NeverEnding
by Chozen Rogue
Summary: Sam/Jack - What if Jack had been on the Odyssey during the events in 'Unending...' Spoilers for the series finale, Unending, and the rest of series.
1. Thrown Out

**NeverEnding 1/?  
****Title:** Thrown Out  
**Author:** Chozen Rogue  
**Rating:** Teen (may change in later chapters); language, sexuality, character death  
**Characters:** Jack/Sam; Team; Landry; Thor  
**Summary:** What if Jack was on the Odyssey during the events of "Unending?"  
**Spoilers:** Unending (Duh!); whole series, will specify if anything major comes up  
**Disclaimer:** Stargate: SG-1 belongs to MGM, Double Secret Productions, and Gekko Films. I just took the characters out for a spin.  
**A/N**: This fic does deal with the changes in time shown in the episode and does tell when the chapter takes place... And the next chapters will be a flashback!  
**A/N2:** As with most people, I had some serious problems with the series finale, mainly centering around the fact that Jack O'Neill wasn't in it. So I decided to put him in this fic… Mostly in effect to drive Sam insane.

* * *

**TWO WEEKS AFTER THE ORI ATTACK**

Tap.

She willed her mind to focus back to the computer screen in front of her.

Tap.

They depended upon her to get them out of this mess that she had caused unknowingly.

Tap.

Her eyes closed involuntary as she winced.

Tap.

'Focus, Carter. There are more important matters.'

Tap.

That was it, one more infuriating sound and Sam knew she was going to snap. 'Just focus, dammit! It's not that bad, you dealt with more in basic training.'

Tap.

Oh God.

Tap.

"Will you stop that?!" She closed her eyes and quickly counted backwards from ten, "Sir."

When she opened them again, he was staring at her with the most innocent, wide-eyed look she had ever seen grace his still bandaged face. Not to mention the pencil that he had been toying with was dangling from his fingers over the table.

Her table.

The table that she was working on to find a way out of this hell she had created for her and her friends. The table he had taken over the second he had walked into lab an hour ago.

She felt her face heat up slightly when that damn smirk fell over his mouth, "Sorry 'bout that, Carter." He set down the pencil and leaned forward on his forearms, the scrapes and stitches that still lined his face becoming even more apparent as the harsh lighting coming from the table illuminated him from underneath. "Guess I'm just bored from being cooped up this long."

"Sorry that I can't help in that Sir, but would you mind…" He stared at her as she fumbled with the right way to kick her superior out of her lab. "Would you mind leaving me to my work, Sir?" At the slightly hurt expression that crossed over his face, she quickly added, "There are a lot of extensive equations to – "

Suddenly Jack's hands came up in a waving motion, "Stop, Carter! You lost me at 'extensive.'" She smiled lightly at him playing dumb. "I'll leave you and those equations alone for now. See you at dinner, Carter." He nodded to her and started out of the lab.

Sighing, Sam turned back to her notepad to continue her work in the now beautifuly silent lab.

Which was shattered only moments later by the sound of glass exploding.

--

At the sound of glass breaking, Daniel came to a sudden stop a few feet from Sam's lab. Turning slowly, he heard mumbled yells and the door slid open to reveal a Jack O'Neill being unceremoniously thrown out and a fuming Sam Carter following in his wake.

"With all due respect, Sir, stay out!"

And with that, she left both men with their jaws on the floor standing there outside in the hall. After a few moments of stunned silence, Jack straightened and turned to start walking to wherever he would take up residence next. Daniel felt a moment of panic when Jack stopped at the sudden sight of him; just yesterday, Jack had been in his own lab keeping Daniel from his research on the Asgard database and tinkering with objects just as fragile as Sam's poor glass... Well, whatever had been broken by Jack's interest in it.

"Daniel."

"Jack."

An awkward silence filled the air between them until Daniel said, "So, Sam threw you out because you broke something?"

"Yeah."

"And how's that working out for you?" Jack looked up at him, his left brow, which still had butterfly stitches spread across it, rising in a questioning fashion. "The getting thrown out bit?"

"Not bad... You?"

Daniel was barely able to stop from grinning as he answered, "Good."

Jack nodded slowly, "Right."

"Right."

And with Daniel's response, the forlorn General dipped his head at his friend and past by him on his way to wherever it was he was heading to. A smile burst out onto the doctor's face as he spun around to watch Jack's dejected walk down the hall and then glanced back at the door to Sam's lab.

He was so going to win that bet with Vala.

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- - I hope you enjoyed! The next chapter will be up on Friday, so look back then!


	2. A Bet is Made

Thank to all you who reviewed!  
Ok, the three chaptered flashback starts with this one; this chapter takes place while the Odyssey is still docked above Earth and then a few days after they leave.  
The start of the Daniel/Vala relationship is shown here and just a warning: Daniel is an ass at the end of it... Enjoy!

**NeverEnding 2/?  
****Title:** A Bet is Made  
**Author:** Chozen Rogue  
**Rating:** Teen; language, sexuality, character death  
**Characters:** Jack/Sam; Team; Landry; Thor  
**Summary:** What if Jack was on the Odyssey during the events of "Unending?"  
**Spoilers:** Unending (Duh!); whole series, will specify if anything major comes up  
**Disclaimer:** Stargate: SG-1 belongs to MGM, Double Secret Productions, and Gekko Films. I just took the characters out for a spin.  
**A/N: Spoilers for 3rd season's 'Legacy.'**

* * *

TWO WEEKS BEFORE THE ORI ATTACK

"So, who is this mystery guest we're waiting for again?"

Sam fought back a smile as she heard Daniel grind his teeth, and was glad that General Landry was the one who answered Vala's question... Even though it was the third time she had asked it in the fifteen minutes they had been waiting in the departure room. "We don't know who they're sending, they just said he was going to come along and assess the situation that Thor referred to in his message."

"But WHY do we have to wait for him?"

"Vala," Mitchell shifted to lean more comfortably against the wall, "he's a high ranking official from Homeworld Security; we HAVE to wait for him." There was an exaggerated sigh that came from the fidgety woman, "Plus, after we ring up, the Odyssey has standing orders to leave Earth's orbit."

"Well, if we have to wait for him, why can't he be on time?!"

Sam's eyes flickered over to Daniel and saw that his face was starting to turn an interesting shade of red and knew it would be any moment till his patience with the dark haired woman, who was presently curled next to his side, snapped. She would have felt pity for him if it had not been more funny than sad; even after two years, Vala still managed to get under his skin over the most inane things.

"Technically, I am on time; you all are just early." All of the room turned to see General Jack O'Neill come into the room, duffle bag slung over his shoulder. "Haven't you guys ever heard of 'fashionably late'?"

"Jack!" Grinning as he came over to the other man, Daniel grasped Jack's hand and pulled the General into a hug, all the time whispering in his ear, "Thank you, I was this close to committing murder!"

As they broke apart, Jack laughed, "Always willing to help; not really into a repeat performance of you in a padded room."

Daniel just shook his head as Jack looked around the room, all the officers had come to attention and with a grin he told them, "At ease." Immediately everyone relaxed, which caused Jack to mentally roll his eyes at the display. Out of the corner of his eye, movement caught his attention and he turned to the dark man who was walking towards him. "Teal'c!"

"It is good to see you, O'Neill."

"Likewise!" He hit Teal'c lightly on the shoulder causing a smile to appear on the bigger man's face and then he caught Sam's eyes. The smile on his face faded but she could still it shining in his eyes. "Carter."

"Sir, we thought you weren't going to show." They still held each other's gaze; Sam suddenly found herself unable to look away, even as Landry came up to him.

Jack shrugged as he shook General's hand, never taking his eyes off Sam, "Well, you know, traffic's a bitch, Hank."

Landry was about to respond when Mitchell said, with a smile in his voice, "Yes, Sir, that it is."

Finally tearing his eyes from Carter, Jack nodded towards the Colonel. "Well, since Vala here is ready to leave," the woman in questioned pointedly grabbed her bag and stood in the middle of the ring pad with a 'finally' on her breath, "let's get going. We got a meeting to get to."

--

She watched as General O'Neill and Sam sat in the latter's lab talking. They were sitting at one of the work tables, stools close enough to cause their knees to touch whenever they shifted; bodies angled toward one another, leaning into the other whenever one would smile.

"What are you doing?"

Vala made a slight squeak of surprise and turned towards Daniel, who was leaning against the bulk head. "Shh! I don't want them to know I'm out here!" She turned back around and hesitantly brought her face around to look into the lab through the glass, hoping they hadn't heard her or Daniel. When Sam and Jack carried on their conversation without pause, she felt herself relax.

Soon she felt his presence at her back, whispering, "Vala, are you spying on Sam?"

Feigning innocence, she replied, "No, I'm spying on THEM."

Daniel stared as Vala pointed wildly to the couple and then shook his head as he witnessed the woman squishing her face to the glass for a supposedly clearer view. "And why are you doing this?"

Suddenly, he was yanked towards the door and barely stopped himself before he hit it, "Vala!"

"Look!"

So he did... And saw nothing.

Jack and Sam were sitting at the stools at one of her work benches, apparently having a conversation. "Vala, what the hell are you on about?! They're just talking."

"No they aren't!"

"Are to!"

"Aren't!"

"Are to!"

"Aren't!"

He rolled his eyes and gave up. Sometimes, Daniel thought the world just put Vala in his life to fill the void that was Jack's immaturity after he had gone off to Washington. Bringing a hand to rub at his eyes under his glasses, he sighed, "What are you talking about?"

"They're sleeping together," Daniel coughed suddenly, "it's so obvious!"

"They aren't sleeping together."

"Then what is with their relationship?!"

He blinked at her and then looked at his friends through the door. "I don't know, Vala. Sam and Jack are," she looked up at him with a smile that suddenly made him uncomfortable, "complicated."

The smile faded, "Complicated? What does that mean?"

"It means it's..." Daniel struggled for a moment and then with a waving motion of his hands and frustration in his voice said, "Complicated!"

Her eyebrow arched. "Well, that's stupid. I mean look at them!" She pointed again to the couple in question right as Jack leaned towards Sam to whisper something in her ear, almost as if he was sharing a private joke with her in a crowded room instead of being alone in her lab.

Daniel's reply was suddenly cut off when Sam burst into laughter causing Jack to look as if he were little boy on Christmas morning. Vala and he watched as Sam slowly calmed into the occasional small laugh and a content smile spread across Jack's face, both falling into a companionable silence as they throw each other quick glances. "I'll bet you a day out of the SGC with you as my date that if they aren't already sleeping together they won't last this trip."

A smile spread over Daniel's face. There were two reasons he would win this bet, no matter how chummy Jack and Sam looked: Jack was still technically her superior and they had waited tens years so far, what was another three weeks? "You're on."

And with that, he started walking down the corridor, leaving Vala to stare after him. "Daniel!" Stopping at the elevator, he turned to her, and she continued, "What will you get if you win?"

As the doors to the elevator opened, he stepped back into it, throwing out, "Not you," just as they closed.

He never saw the hurt expression cross her face as laughter once again broke out in the lab behind her.

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- - Comments are love and help feed the muse; plus, they make this special day even more special for me! So, love it/hate it; review!


	3. The Calm Before the Storm

The story starts to get serious from here; don't worry, humor will be still be there but the angst is palpable... Blame the writers for what they did to the Asgard... Grr... Still upsets me.  
Thanks to all those who have commented!

**NeverEnding 3/?  
****Title:** The Calm before the Storm  
**Author:** Chozen Rogue  
**Rating:** Teen; language, sexuality, character death  
**Characters:** Jack/Sam; Team (Daniel/Vala); Landry; Thorf  
**Summary:** What if Jack was on the Odyssey during the events of "Unending?"  
**Spoilers:** Unending (Duh!); whole series, will specify if anything major comes up  
**Disclaimer:** Stargate: SG-1 belongs to MGM, Double Secret Productions, and Gekko Films. I just took the characters out for a spin.  
**Spoilers for 2x15 The Fifth Race.**

* * *

THE ORI ATTACK

O'Neill, Landry, and Carter entered the bridge; Landry taking the captain's chair immediately, "Major?"

Sam took her position to the left of Landry and smiled as she saw that Jack was still near the doorway, leaning against the wall next to it. He crossed his arms and shot a small grin towards smiled as Major Marks replied to the General, "We're approaching the co-ordinates, sir."

"Drop us out."

Jack braced himself as the ship rock forward as it dropped back into regular space. As the planet they were approaching grew larger in the view port, Jack couldn't help but think it looked quite a lot like Earth.

"We're being hailed." Jack's attention turned towards the door as the rest of SG-1 filtered onto the bridge while the helmsman continued relaying his information, "The Asgard are requesting permission to beam aboard, sir."

"Granted," Landry replied.

Suddenly, the bridge was bathed in a white light as Thor beamed aboard. The small alien immediately spoke, "Greetings. And welcome to Orilla."

Sam walked forward and said, "Thor!"

Jack couldn't help but smile as he moved towards Thor; the excitement in Carter's voice was infectious. "Thor, buddy!"

Thor nodded towards them both, "Hello, Colonel Carter; O'Neill. It is good to see you both."

Vala watched the interaction between the two humans and the alien with a feeling of confusion. She leaned into to Daniel, "Out of curiosity: how can you tell the difference?"

Without hesitation, he replied, "The voice."

The dark haired woman stared blankly up at Daniel for a moment before letting her attention snap back to the conversation taking place. She had a peculiar feeling of deja-vu; the first time seeing Daniel and Cam in the same room together flashing through her mind.

"It's good to see you too, Thor." Sam couldn't seem to stop grinning; she had not seen Thor in some time. She knew that Jack had, what with diplomatic relations and all, but she couldn't help but felt an odd sense of comfort knowing that the old members of SG-1 were together and with their good friend. Shaking herself out of her reminiscing, she pointed to her colleagues that had never met the alien before them, "This is General Landry, Colonel Mitchell, and Vala."

Jack shook his head in amusement as Vala waved enthusiastically as Thor acknowledged each with a nod, "Greetings."

"So Thor," Daniel chimed in suddenly, "how yah been? Haven't heard from you in a while."

Jack raised a hand. "Nor had I till I got a phone call in the middle of the night, waking me up from a particularly good dream," it took everything in his willpower to keep his eyes from sliding over to Sam; yes, a very good dream, indeed, "calling for my assistance in this part of the galaxy."

Sam and traded Daniel a bemused look, as two bog black eyes blinked in surprise at the General, "I am sorry; that was not our intention." Jack shrugged and then made a motion for Thor to carry on. "I have been otherwise occupied. As mentioned in our communication, the high council wishes to meet with you to explain in greater detail, but there is not much time."

Thor's attention turned to Landry, "General, with your permission, a number of Asgard are prepared to beam aboard immediately to begin installing various technological upgrades to this ship."

Mitchell turned towards Teal'c and said quietly, "I hope it's ray guns. I hope it's ray guns." The Jaffa looked at Cameron, annoyance written across his face as the other man explained further, "I got ray guns in the pool."

Landry, with excitement in his voice, asked, "What is it you're planning on giving us?"

"Everything we have and know."

Vala asked uncertainly, "By that you mean?"

"Everything." In shock, all on the bridge traded looks; Jack just stared at Thor, his friend's voice held a certain desperation that was beginning to make him uneasy. "All our most current technology; all our knowledge."

A long moment passed as they digested this information; Jack's stomach churning as he tried to follow what Thor was telling them all and what it meant.

"Sorry," Daniel blurted out. "We're just a little stunned. I mean, why are you doing this?"

"Daniel..."

He held up a hand to stop Jack's sudden outburst, choosing to ignore the man's warning tone, and instead turning back to Thor, "You've always resisted in the past; you always said we weren't ready."

"Indeed. Many Asgard still believe that." The regret in the alien's voice caused Daniel to close his eyes in frustration; Thor was invading the question.

Mitchell's voice also held a hint of frustration as he asked, "So, what's changed?"

"As a race," Thor moved a hand to his chest, "we are dying. Very soon, we will all be gone."

Landry made a move to get up from his chair but fell back into it with shock. Vala and Daniel traded stunned looks, while Teal'c and Cam just stared at what appeared to be the still healthy body of the Asgard Supreme Commander. For her part, Sam felt a stinging sensation behind her eyes start as Thor turned his to look at her.

But the regret that reflected in Thor's black eyes compared nothing to when she glanced over at Jack who was now leaning heavily against the helm's console. His face had become ashen, mouth slightly opened with his eyes having glazed quality to them.

The human race was about to loose their biggest ally but SG-1 was about to loose one of their closest friends.

--

"The Asgard computer core is equipped with its own power source that will not infringe on your ships ZPM." Thor turned away from Asgard control panel now situated in the middle of the Odyssey's control room, "However, when the upgrades are complete, the core will be fully integrated into all the ships systems."

"There must be something more you can do," the frustration in Sam's voice caused Thor to blink uncertainly in her direction.

"I assure you we are providing you with all the latest Asgard technology," Sam squeezed her eyes shut and let her head fall forward before meeting Thor's eyes again as he continued, "as well as a knowledge base including our entire history."

"That's not what I was talking about."

"Everything that can be done has been done. The final attempt to solve our physiological degeneration has left each of us with a rapidly progressing disease."

Sam tried to ignore the defeat in Thor's voice as he explained that his race was dying, to have hope for something more, but she also couldn't help feeling that maybe there really was no way out of this situation.

--

"It really wasn't an option for them." SG-1 sat around the briefing room table with General Landry and General O'Neill situated at either end. "They made the choice to extend their lives through science generations ago. It took any natural physiological evolution necessary for ascension out of the equation."

Jack stared down at the table as Daniel came to the end of his explanation. He had asked if there was a way for the Asgard to ascend; he had figured if the entire population of Abydos could do it, why not Thor's people? Now, Jack had his answer and it wasn't even close to being the one he had been hoping for.

"They're planning on ending their lives before the degeneration they're suffering from goes too far."

There was moment of silence after Landry had spoken till Cam stated simply, "Mass suicide."

Daniel nodded at the man sitting across from him and explained, "They don't want any of their knowledge or technology falling into the wrong hands."

"And they wanted us to witness the event."

As soon as the words had left Landry's mouth, Jack slid his chair back, not caring as the others watched him as he rubbed harshly at his face, mumbling, "Oh, for fuck's sake." There were a few tense moments as they continued to stare at the man, till he suddenly stood up and walked out of the room.

Teal'c and Daniel each made moves to follow their friend but were stopped by Landry's, "Let him go."

Both men traded looks as they sat back slowly in their seats. Teal'c with his mind still on O'Neill's sudden departure turned his attention back to the matter of the Asgard and said, "So everything they've installed on this ship..."

Daniel, pushing Jack to the back of his mind till after the meeting, finished Teal'c's thought, "Is going to be their legacy."

--

The control room hummed with energy as the Asgard core was activated. After making some quick adjustments to panel, Thor turned to Sam, "If you like, you'll be able to interface with the core using a holographic representation of me or any other Asgard on record in the knowledge base."

"I'm sorry," Sam heard the tears in her voice and found she didn't care, "but that just won't be the same."

Thor blinked heavily, "I have been working on this for the better part of a year Colonel Carter."

Sam, realizing that he had misunderstood her, quickly said, "And we appreciate it, really!"

"Many on the council did not believe we should be imparting such advancements."

"Well, I promise we'll do our very best not to let you down."

"You are the fifth race. You're – "

"Yeah, I remember you saying that once." Both Sam and Thor turned to see Jack standing in the doorway. At the sight of his rigid frame and balled fists, she knew immediately that he was angry, and most likely, looking for a fight. "You said we weren't ready."

"That is correct." Thor looked at Sam in what she could only call confusion; he most likely didn't understand why Jack seemed to be angry.

"And you think we are now?"

Thor turned back to his friend and stepped closer towards Jack. "You're role is clear. If there is any hope in preserving the future, it lies with you and your people."

Carter's eye widened at the burden that had just been laid on them, "No pressure, huh?"

Ignoring her, Jack stepped into the alien's personal space to stare down at him. "Why are you doing this?" There was a moment of confusion from both the Asgard and Carter till Jack clarified, "You still have time to fix this; to cure yourself."

Thor's eyes left his friend's face to settle on the ground, "We have tried; there is no alternative."

"Bullshit!" Sam felt her jaw drop as she watched the barely controlled anger leave Jack. "You've just given up; taking the easy, 'safer' way out, like always! Go on; blow your selves up for all I care!" And with that, he turned around and started out of the room.

"You have earned my respect," there was a pause as Jack stopped suddenly, "and my friendship."

"Well, the feeling's mutual." Her statement was as much hers as it was Jack's, but Sam knew he'd never be able to say; at least not now. Sam stared at his back, shoulders rigid, fists balled, and body so tense, she could see that it was shaking.

"Please," her attention was drawn back to Thor as he made to face her once again, "do not be sad." Out of the corner of her eye, she saw O'Neill relax slightly and crane his neck slightly to look over his shoulder at them. "The end of my people has been a long time coming. We have made too many irreversible mistakes in our development; hopefully you can learn something from it." At this, Thor turned just as Jack did, "My only regret is that our physical weakness has left us incapable of helping you further."

At the sight of them staring at one another with an intensity that scared Sam, she rose suddenly from her chair and hugged Thor, making sure to be careful with his thin frame; tears that had been threatening to break finally making their way down her cheek.

Jack stood there as he watched Thor hesitantly bring his arms up around Sam to return her hug. He could see the silent tears slowly sliding down her face to fall onto the gray skin of the alien she held and it made him want to hit something. To scream out his frustration, take it out on something; just so he wouldn't have to deal with the pain he felt.

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- - Feel free to comment and tell me what you think so far!


	4. Helpless

**Ok, sorry for the wait guys, but a big thank you goes out to all those who have reviewed! You keep me writing!  
This, by far, was the most difficult part to write and it also didn't help that I had 2 weeks full of midterms. But hopefully, from now on, updates will be happening regurally! Hope you guys enjoy!**

**NeverEnding 4/?  
****Title:** Helpless  
**Author:** Chozen Rogue  
**Rating:** Teen; language, sexuality, character death  
**Characters:** Jack/Sam; Team; Landry; Thor  
**Summary:** What if Jack was on the Odyssey during the events of "Unending?"  
**Spoilers:** Unending (Duh!); **1x22 Within the Serpent's Grasp & 2x16 The Fifth Race  
Disclaimer:** Stargate: SG-1 belongs to MGM, Double Secret Productions, and Gekko Films. I just took the characters out for a spin.

* * *

THE ORI ATTACK

General Landry was met by the sound of the proximity alarm going off as he entered the bridge. Major Marks turned to the General as he took position in the command chair and said, "Sir, three Ori ships just dropped out of hyper space and are approaching the planet."

Before Landry could reply, the ship rocked violently as the Ori began to fire.

Back in the control room, Sam and Thor grabbed the Asgard console as the ship shook from the hit; her suddenly wide eyes caught sight of Jack's. He had braced himself in the doorway and was looking at her in confusion.

"What the hell was that?!" He asked her.

Leaving Thor, Sam crossed over to the sensors as Landry's voice filtered in over com channel. "Colonel this is the bridge; we have three contacts." Sam began to check the ship's system as the General continued, "Ori mother ships bearing down."

Reading the information being displayed on her screen, she said, "Sir, the hyper drive is still offline; diverting power to the shields."

From behind her, Thor's voice was thick with urgency, "You must go."

"No!"

At the sound of O'Neill's yell, Sam whipped around to see him grab hold of Thor as they were both beamed off the ship in a white haze. As she stood there staring at the spot where the two had been moments before, Sam couldn't help the fear settling in the pit of her stomach.

-----

As soon as the odd sensation of transporter dissipated, Jack opened his eyes to find Thor staring back at him with what could only have been described as fear. "What have you done? Why have you followed?"

Jack glared back at him, "I'm not letting you go through with this! You're supposed to be there for us; we're not ready to be on our own!"

Sadly, Thor replied, "You do not understand. We cannot continue to guide and protect you in our current state." He quickly crossed to a panel which was placed before a window showing the scrawling expanse of Orilla; he would miss this planet, this life. Most of all, he would miss this human, this man who was always needing help to get out of the trouble that he had somehow caused, his friend. "You are now capable of doing those things yourself; you are much more advanced than you would believe."

"I don't believe that and neither do you! You selfish son of a bitch, this doesn't make any sense; you don't have to do this! Just give us a chance to help you! To let others help you!"

Ignoring the human's pleas and desperate excuses, Thor turned to Jack, who was now directly behind him and handed him a leather bound volume that had been laying on top the console. "I had hoped to give you this during the banquet we had planned for this evening but we have not the time now."

Taking the book from Thor's hand with his, suddenly numb, fingers, Jack stared at it and then his eyes snapped wildly to Thor's. He could feel his body begin to hum with the building of energy, the tell-tale sign that told him he was about to be beamed off the planet.

No, there still had to be some way to stop them from doing this! He knew that once he was off the planet, they'd do something drastic to ensure none of their technology fell to the Ori.

The last thing he heard, as his body was beamed off the planet, was Thor's final words: "Read and understand, O'Neill."

----

Finally, Sam tore her eyes from the spot Thor and O'Neill had been. "Sir, the Asgard just disembarked," Sam lowered her head and then added, "General O'Neill was with them."

Back on the bridge, Landry closed his eyes and sighed heavily; why was Jack always pulling stunts like this? "There's nothing we can do about that, Colonel. I'm sorry."

Sam kicked the bottom of the console in frustration and then took a deep breath as Landry's voice came back over the com. "How long until we can jump to hyperspace?"

Forcing Jack to the back of her mind, she turned her attaention back to the situation at hand. "It will take a few minutes to get the hyper drive back online," she replied as she rushed over to the station that controlled the engines.

Landry turned to Major Marks and ordered, "Full sub light. Get us clear of the planet."

The Major looked at the General and said hesitantly, "But sir, General O'Neill?"

"General O'Neill made his decision, let's honor it son." Landry eyed the planet shown through the windows before him. "Now Major, get us clear."

Marks nodded and turned back to his screens. "Full sub light!"

As the Odyssey moved away from the planet, the Ori ships fired at the fleeing ship. The shields took the brunt of the blasts as Teal'c and Mitchell entered the bridge, both having to the brace themselves as the ship shook.

"Shields are down to 83%!"

Ignoring the Major's information, Mitchell grabbed onto the helm and asked, "How the hell did they find us?" The shields withstood another blast, the ship shuddering under their feet in response, "Is there some reason we're not jumping into hyperspace?

"Carter's working on it," Landry replied, the tension clear in his voice.

Reading his screen, Marks suddenly said, "Sir, sensors are detecting a massive build up of energy coming from the planet.

The General felt his jaw tighten before he yelled, "Everyone hold on tight!"

In the control room, Sam braced herself. She wasn't sure if it was Landry's yell over the speaker or the fact that Jack was still on the planet; she felt the bile start to rise in her throat.

Time seem to stop as she watched the planet seem to expand, the sound of the transporter barely reaching her ears. As Orilla exploded into a million pieces of jagged rock, Jack threw himself into the window that was in front her console, startling Sam as he pounded the glass, "God dammit, no!"

She watched as his body seemed to crumple with an imaginary weight, sliding down the wall to land heavily on the floor. Even as the ship was rocked violently by the shockwave caused by the explosion, Sam still wasn't sure she believed he was there. "Sir?"

At her barely audible question, he raised his eyes to hers; they were rimmed with red and she was sure that she could see wet trails down his face.

"Colonel!"

It took a few moments for Landry's voice to register but as soon as it did, Sam tore her eyes from the broken man before her and to the screen of her console. "Sir, the hyper drive is now online but we have to get clear of the radiation caused by the explosion before we can make the jump safely." Her eyes drifted back to Jack, who was still on the floor staring at her with an empty gaze; he was starting to scare her. "And Sir... General O'Neill is back on board."

A barely audible 'thank god' came through and then Landry said, "Thank you, Colonel, but how about the Asgard energy weapons?"

"They haven't been tested yet, sir." Sam closed her eyes at the slight note of anxiety now coating her voice. When she reopened them, Jack was wiping the back of his hand against his face as he raised himself off the ground and started towards her. He had only taken two steps before he was thrown into the control console as the ship took two more hits; his torso coming into contact hard against the metal.

"Well that's gonna leave a mark," he grumbled as he clutched at his side.

Sam blinked. It scared her that he could make a joke so soon after having seen him breakdown but it still filled her with a sense of hope. Hope that he would make it through this... That they all would.

----

On the bridge, Major Marks read the updated information on his console. "Shields are down to 28%. At Maximum sub light we're 47seconds to get clear."

"We're not gonna make it," Cameron deadpanned, earning him a stern look from Landry.

The General turned to Marks and said, "Let's see what these new Asgard upgrades are made of. Come about."

The Odyssey banked and began to move toward the rear of the Ori ships. "Power the energy weapons."

At the General's order, Marks looked down at his console and quickly pressed a button, "Energy weapons are powered."

"Fire!"

True to the Major's mark, all four energy beams hit one of the Ori ships, "Sensors indicate enemy shields are fluctuating."

Smiling slightly at the news, Landry ordered, "Keep firing."

The Odyssey kept issuing the blue beams as the Ori's shields started to fail. Soon the ship was enveloped in flames as it exploded, the suddenness of it causing the bridge crew of the Odyssey to reel back in shock.

"I'll be damned..." Landry traded looks with the Major sitting next to him and smiled.

Mitchell moved towards the front of the bridge, shock still etched on his face, "We got them." Cam blinked in confusion; his pessimistic nature not quite believing how easy the fight had been.

"Get us into hyperspace."

"Yes sir," the Major was all too happy to comply.

-----

When the doors of the elevator slid open and revealed a haggard looking Jack O'Neill and an equally tired Samantha Carter, Landry couldn't help but feel sympathy for them both. But now was not the time for such emotions; the Odyssey had been damaged to the point where the General was afraid of whether or not they could make it to Earth in their condition.

"Run another diagnostic." At Sam's order, the technician, who she had been talking with in the tube, hurried away and she turned to face Landry as he addressed the two.

"General; Colonel." Landry addressed Sam as the three turned and walked in the direction of the control room. "How's that report coming? I wanna be able to brief the president as soon as we get back," Landry turned to look back at Jack, who had fallen behind them, "he's gonna want to know how quickly we can duplicate this new Asgard weaponry."

"Don't worry about briefing him Hank; I'll do it."

Landry smiled slightly at the other General till his attention turned back to Carter, who was speaking, "I'm working on it, sir, but something else has come up."

The three came to a stop and both Generals turned to face Sam. "The hyper drive diagnostic is spitting out some data that's concerning me."

"We took some damage that's causing a problem?"

Sam shook her head slightly at Landry's query, "I think we need to drop out and run a few tests just to be sure."

"Carter," she turned to Jack, who was looking at her with an intense gaze, "we just got our asses kicked by a bunch of Ori; the entire fleet might be looking for us. Is there any way we could make it to Earth in our condition?"

"No, sir. I wouldn't be suggesting it if it were just a routine anomaly." She looked at both men before adding, "Sirs, if we push the hyper drive in its present shape, not knowing if it's damaged or not, we're risking it and this ship."

Sighing, Jack turned to Landry, "Guess we're taking a detour."

-----

Jack felt the subtle kick from the engines as the Odyssey dropped out of hyper space. It was times like these that he couldn't help but remember the first time he had felt that sensation. Of course, this time he wasn't being held hostage by goa'uld and wasn't going face first into a peltak; his handling of the change in speed had definitely gotten better over the years.

"So, how long did Carter say the diagnostic was going to take?"

Landry looked up at him and was about to respond when Major Marks suddenly caught both of their attention with, "Sir, two contacts just appeared on sensors. Mother-ships. Ori. Closing fast."

The General turned back to look up at Jack as the other man threw his hands up in the air. "Ok, when I said there was a possibility that we could run into them again, I meant different ships, ones on patrol!"

Shaking his head in frustration, Landry hit the button for the com and patched through to the control room, "Colonel, given we've already taken damage, I'd rather not take on two more ships." At this, the Odyssey seized under their feet as the shields took hits issued by both of the Ori mother ships.

"I think they're planning on doing that, regardless of what you're feelings are on the subject, Hank."

Landry ignored Jack's smart-ass comment as Sam's voice filtered through the com. "Sir the hyper drive is back online."

"Get us back into hyperspace!"

The urgency in General Landry's voice was palpable as Marks keyed in the commands for the Odyssey to enter hyperspace. "Yes, sir."

-----

Jack watched as Mitchell stalked around the table, "It's a hell of a coincidence, don't ya think?"

Sitting down next to Landry, Sam faced Cam as he came around from behind her, "Well, unless they were tracking us and just waiting for us to drop out..." She couldn't help but look across the table at O'Neill; he had been the one who had brought up the situation when she had requested that they dropped out of hyperspace. He raised an eyebrow and she quickly averted her eyes.

"I thought they couldn't track us in hyperspace?"

"Unless it was the Ori themselves tipping off the Priors." Everyone turned to stare as Vala spun lazily in her chair.

Staring at the odd woman next to him, Jack said, "You know, I think she might have a point."

Pointedly ignoring Vala's behavior, Daniel shook his head. "We've already passed back into the Milky Way. As far as we know, the Ancients should have a problem with the Ori using their ascended powers right under their noses."

Jack and Sam both said, "As far as we know." They shot each other confused looks that quickly turned into bemused smiles; even after all the years outside of combat, they could still read the other's thoughts.

Cam shrugged his shoulders, "At least we now have weapons we know will destroy an Ori Ship."

"Well that's not going to do us any good if they can track us where ever we go." Turning her attention to General Landry, Sam continued, "I mean, eventually the Odyssey's gonna come up against more than she can handle."

Jack held up a hand as he leaned forward. "If she hasn't already. At the moment, we're only at half of our maximum shield capacity; we can't take another run-in with those ships."

Teal'c tilted his head in agreement with O'Neill's assessment and then asked, "Is it possible the Priors can detect the new technology given to us by the Asgard, without the help of the Ori?"

Sam thought over for a moment, slowly going over the upgrades the Asgard had given them before she replied. "I suppose the new power source could be giving off some sort of unique energy signature that's detectable from subspace. However without further experimentation the only way to find out is to shut it off and see if that stops the Ori from following us."

"Do it," Landry said without hesitation.

Sam winced, boy were they going to love what she was about to tell them. "The problem with that, sir, is that the new Asgard core is currently tied into every system on this ship." She could feel every single person in the room stare her in confusion, "We would have to drop out of hyperspace and isolate the core from the hyper drive controls."

Pausing for a moment, she added, "And that could take some time."

Landry, along with Vala whose chair made a grinding sounded as she twirled in it too harshly, both sighed in frustration. Cam, Daniel, and Teal'c traded looks of unease, while Jack's head fell heavily against the back of his hands that were resting on top of the table.

Time wasn't exactly a luxury they had at the moment.

* * *

- - Review and let me know how I did; this was the hardest part to write so far!


	5. A World Falling

Ok, so I said this would be up by Halloween, but between being sick, tests, and friends coming up for the weekend that deadline got trashed.  
But here it is; the epic 9 pages of chapter 5, which now officially the longest part of any story I have ever written. It's been through two rewrites and I think I'm finally ok with it; hope ya'll are too.  
Thanks to everyone who left reviews on the last part; enjoy!

**NeverEnding 5/?  
****Title: **A World Falling  
**Author:** Chozen Rogue  
**Rating:** Teen; language, sexuality, character death  
**Characters:** Jack/Sam; Team; Landry; Thor  
**Summary:** What if Jack was on the Odyssey during the events of "Unending?"  
**Spoilers:** Unending (Duh!)  
**Disclaimer:** Stargate: SG-1 belongs to MGM, Double Secret Production, and Gekko Films. I just took the characters out for a spin.

* * *

**THE ORI ATTACK**

Claxons were sounding as he turned the corner, "Come on people! EVAC!" He grabbed at a few of the scientists who were trying to bring whatever Asgard technology they had been studying. "Now!"

Throwing them out of the lab, Jack started running for the stairwell on this level, the lab nerds following him.

When he had volunteered, more like 'forced into' by a guilty conscious brought on by a certain blond Lieutenant Colonel, to help in clearing some of the debris on the lower levels, Jack had not expected that he would have to evacuate. Thirty seconds ago, he had been helping a technician with a wall panel when the Odyssey had shuddered under the weight of her third attack by the Ori in as many hours causing the hull to buckle.

The universe obviously hated him today.

Right as the group reached the stairwell entrance, they were thrown off their feet as the ship thrashed in response to another hit from the Ori. Jack tried to brace himself as he fell against the bulkhead but another explosion rocked the ship causing his head to smash into the wall instead.

He heard rather than felt the crack that resounded as he slid to the ground.

As his vision slowly cleared, he was aware of a stinging sensation over his left eye and then wetness as blood started to drip onto his cheek. He held up a hand to his forehead and hissed when it came away bloodier than he had expected to find. "Fuck," he whispered as he blinked back the blood that was threatening to obscure his vision, when suddenly he was hauled up by a crew member.

"General, are you all right?" He didn't give Jack enough time to answer as he pushed the battered man in the direction of the stairwell. "Come on, we have to get off this level before the hull breaches!"

They once again started down the hall; Jack struggling to stay upright even with the help of the man next to him. When they reached the stairwell, the man pushed his superior into the hatch and closed it behind them as Jack started his journey up the ladder. They only had a few moments and they need to get to the designated safe zone which was still three levels above them.

Fighting against the nausea that was building its way up his throat, he finally reached the open hatch; immediately, two crewmembers grabbed him and hauled him out. After helping the man that had been behind Jack out as well they quickly closed the hatch.

Bolting the door, the group moved away from it and felt another Ori blast hit the ship. The ship shuddered violently and the area around them exploded into sparks and debris as the Odyssey literally tore apart underneath their feet.

Suddenly, Jack was thrown against the opposite wall as a piece of debris imbedded itself into his side and shards of glass slice his face to ribbons. The last thing he registered, before he gave into the searing pain coursing through him, were hands pressing hard against his abdomen and a desperate, "General!"

*****

Landry entered the control room flanked by Mitchell, Teal'c, and Daniel; all of them immediately noticing that Jack was missing when only Vala and Sam were present.

Sam looked up from her console as they enter and wondered slightly as she saw that O'Neill wasn't with them. She knew he didn't have to attend the meeting since he was only acting as a diplomat on this mission, but she still thought he would have wanted to be there. He and the clean-up crews were probably still trying to sort out the damage caused by the last Ori attack.

Checking the information that was presented on her screen once more, Sam stood and addressed the group of men in front of her, "We're gonna need at least half an hour to get the hyper drive systems separated from the core."

Raising an eyebrow in confusion, Teal'c said, "We must assume that the Ori ships will continue to engage us when ever we stop."

Landry felt a headache start to come on as he thought about how to give Sam the time she needed and how to evade the Ori at the same time. The Odyssey couldn't take much more of this abuse, and had actually done far better than he had ever hoped for, but there also an entire crew to account for; how could he ask them to take this chance when it most likely wouldn't work. "Is there a planet with a Stargate nearby?"

Vala rolled her chair out of the way as Sam came over to her console and began sifting through the address database. "Yes Sir, P3X-474. It's uninhabited; we should get there in just under an hour." Turning back around to face the General, she added, "We might make it before the hyper drive fails."

Daniel, suddenly confused, asked, "And what?"

"Beam to the surface and gate home."

Sam looked at Mitchell, and said, "We can't let this ship fall into enemy hands."

"That's what the self destruct is for." Everyone, except Mitchell, turned to Landry in shock.

"Whoa, whoa!" Outraged by Landry's suggestion, Daniel continued, "Wait a minute, Sir; if you're talking about destroying the ship..." He looked to Sam for help before turning back to the General. "We can't sacrifice the knowledge base of the Asgard. They trusted us with their legacy."

A moment passed before Landry responded, "Dr. Jackson, this is not something I'm considering lightly. I'm assuming we can't take any of it with us."

"No Sir, the core is too big to fit through the gate."

Ignoring the regret in Sam's voice, Daniel once again tried to get them to see reason. "Well, I for one am willing to stay and put up a fight; I think it's worth it."

"Get us to 474. We'll beam the crew down to the surface; hopefully they'll be enough time for them to gate home before the Ori attack." Daniel stared at him, not really understanding if Landry was still planning on destroying the Odyssey or if they were going to stay and fight.

Confused by Landry's order as well, Cam asked, "And then what?" They all turned to the man as he elaborated. "I've said it before: I am for fighting to the death. But we need a plan; preferably one that avoids the 'to the death part'."

"We have an hour to come up with one." The room filled with an awkward silence as they looked around, not really knowing where to start. Rolling his eyes, Landry finally said, "Alright people, let's start prepping the ship to run on a skeleton crew."

At that, Daniel, Teal'c, and Mitchell filtered out of the room leaving Landry to walk over to where Vala and Sam were still standing. "Colonel, is there any way for you to buy us a little bit of time? The Ori seem pretty insistent to tear this ship apart."

Carter was about to answer the General's question when an Ensign suddenly ran into the room, "Sorry Sir, Ma'am, but the communication network is out in some parts of the ship and it's urgent."

Sam's stomach suddenly tightened as she saw Landry motion for the man to carry on. "General O'Neill was injured in the last attack; he was still in surgery the last I heard." He paused as he shook his head and added, "It didn't look good, Sir."

Both Landry and Vala looked to Sam, who was suddenly white, and then traded worried glances. Hank wasn't stupid when it came to the unorthodox relationship his second in command had with his friend, a higher ranked officer, and even though he did not condone it, he still felt sorry for the woman in front of him. Laying a hand on her arm, he said, "Go."

She looked at him and said, "No, it's - "

"Carter, stop." Her retort stopped mid-sentence, as he continued, "You need a break anyways."

Smiling weakly, she tilted her head and started towards the infirmary.

*****

Sam tried not to run the last few feet to the infirmary as she dodged the personnel that were going about their work to make sure that the ship held together. She had a little over fifty minutes till they reached P3X-474 and she still had to find a way to dislodge the Asgard core from the ship, but before she could even think about working on that, she needed to see him.

The wide set doors that lead into the infirmary were already open as Sam hurried through them but she came to a complete stop when she saw the wounded; there were so many. She knew that most of them were probably scrapes and burns, but she could see that some were in far worse condition.

A frazzled looking nurse came up to her, worry clear in the woman's voice. "Colonel? Can I help you?"

"Wh - ," Sam stopped and closed her eyes. Her voice had broken when she had tried to answer, showing far too much emotion than she had meant to. "Where is General O'Neill?"

She almost breathed a sigh of relief as she heard her words hold steady.

"Sorry Ma'am," Sam felt her world start spin as the nurse paused. "He's been released."

"What?" She looked around frantically, "What do you mean he's been released? I heard he was in critical condition; surgery!"

"He was, Ma'am, but he was healed using one of the medical devices the Asgard gave us." Another nurse brushed past them and the woman moved them both nearer to the doors so they wouldn't be in the way. "We have a lot of scrapes and burns, not to mention broken bones, but anyone suffering from a serious injury we are healing with the new technology."

Sam nodded slowly, "Was he well enough to be released?"

"Under normal conditions, no Ma'am," she shrugged. "He was well enough to be sent to his quarters to rest, but his condition would be the same as if he had surgery a few days ago. We were only able to heal the internal damage, and we would have kept him longer but as you can see," she gestured to the area around them, "we don't have much choice, what with supplies and space running low." Suddenly a smile spread over the nurse's face, "He also requested to leave."

Sam couldn't help the smile that spread over her face; knowing Jack, he had probably just gotten up and left. "Is he in his quarters?"

"No Ma'am, he had to go to one of the crew cabins on deck 5; his quarters are in a section of the ship that is off limits at the moment."

Nodding her thanks, Sam left and made her way to the elevators.

*****

Even as she pushed the chime on the side of the door, Sam knew she should probably leave him to rest but she couldn't force herself to do it. She had to see him; had to make sure he was still alive and well with her own eyes before she could even hope to be able to concentrate on her work.

The door slid open and she quickly stepped over the threshold only to stop when she saw him.

He was lying on the bed up against the wall, head back and looking at her from beneath heavy lids. "Hey Carter."

She stared at him for, barely aware he had spoken as her eyes roamed over him. He was shirtless giving her a good look his torso, which was wrapped tightly in white gauze, and his face wasn't much better. A large bandage covered the left side of his forhead and upper cheek, with a section that had been cut away to reveal a slightly swollen eye and a bruised that extended down to his jaw. Moving her gaze to the right side of his face, she noticed jagged cuts running along his cheek. She grimaced as she realized that some of those cuts would leave scars.

"This is what they meant by fixing you up?"

He smiled slightly, "Actually, they fixed me up a lot." He shifted his legs on the bed, and gestured to the now clear area. The invitation to sit was obvious in Sam's mind as she felt her eyes shift to the chair across the room and felt herself hesitate. After a moment, she rolled her eyes and threw caution to the wind as she sat down on the edge of his bed. When she met his eyes, she found that a genuine grin had spread over his face injured face.

"What happened, Sir?"

"Oh, you know, the usual."

"Being a hero again, Sir?"

"Always."

There was a moment of silence between them till Sam said, "They said they had to use an Asgard device on you."

He nodded, the smile in his eyes dying as he explained, "Yeah, they did. Looks like Thor saved my ass again." Jack closed his eyes and swallowed roughly.

Not really knowing what to do, Sam reached over and laid a hand on his leg near the ankle. Her eyes met his when he reopened them, "Sir, how bad was it?"

"Crack orbital bone and concussion, mixed with flying glass and a piece of debris that pierced a kidney and intestines. Not to mention it nicked an artery when it went through causing an insane amount of blood to be lost."

Sam felt the blood drain from her face; she really had almost lost him. "Thor would have been happy that his technology was used to save you." She shrugged and added, "Again."

This drew a laugh from him, which immediately turned into a coughing fit that had Sam moving to slide her arms around him as his body rocked forward. She felt helpless as he tried to fight the tremors now coursing through his body; his head coming to rest against her shoulder.

Sam's mind was suddenly filled with the ramifications of their current position and the fact that she had a hand on the base of his neck wasn't helping ease her mind either. Nor could she help herself when she felt her lips caress the tan skin along his shoulder; his body still shuddering against her.

Definitely not the brightest idea she had ever had.

He slowly regained control over his body and Sam felt him start to relax; her hand moving up the back of his neck to caress the soft hair she found there.

They sat there for a few moments till Sam felt him shift and she looked at him. Jack was now facing her, head still on her shoulder, their lips unbearably close to each other, as he smiled lightly, "Okay... So, not going to do that again."

"Sorry," Sam focused her eyes on his shoulder, not being able to look at his eyes, or worse, his lips, "I just wanted to make you smile."

She felt a hand lift up and suddenly his fingers were caressing her cheek, "You did, don't worry about."

Finally gathering up enough courage to meet his gaze, Sam swore she stopped breathing as she saw his eyes lower to watch his thumb ran itself across her bottom lip.

A small grin settled over his face as he closed his eyes and then he gently pulled back to settle against the wall in what appeared to be a much comfortable position given his injured torso.

A soon as it registered that he was longer in her arms, Sam quickly moved off the bed to a standing position and brought a shaking hand up to her lips. She felt as though she could still feel him touching her there; oh God, what had she gotten herself into?

Suddenly feeling awkward around him, she desperately searched for something to say, especially since he seemed to be content to just sit there with that stupid all-knowing grin plastered on his face. "Have you been briefed on our current position, Sir?"

She blinked, not exactly what she had been thinking about saying but it certainly brought back a sense of familiarity to her; they had always been about the job.

He nodded. "Landry contacted me right before you got here. All personal except SG-1 evacuate once we reach 474."

"Yes, Sir. And then we try to extract the core before the Ori get here."

"And if you don't?"

Blue met worried brown. "Then we fight."

Nothing else needed to be said. They both knew the ramifications of what another fight with the Ori would bring in the Odyssey's current condition. "Then you'd better get ready."

"Yes, sir." And with that, she looked him over once more, committing everything to detail even the white gauze and bruises. When she finished, Sam turned and started out the room.

"Sam." His voice stopped her as she was about to hit the panel to close his door. Looking back to meet his eyes, Sam stood there as they stared at each other; both afraid to really acknowledge what they knew they wanted to say to the other.

After a moment, Sam nodded toward her superior, the man that had her heart for the last nine years, before once again starting her journey towards the control room.

She had thirty minutes left.

*****

General Landry hit the button to patch him through to the control room, "Colonel? Are we ready to go?"

"Yes, sir," Sam looked up from the console and met Vala's gaze; both women hoping for this plan to work.

The Odyssey fell out of hyperspace and before and Sam motioned for Vala to start transporting the crew down to the surface of the planet they were now orbiting.

Vala reading over the information now up on her screen she said, "All members of the crew have been evacuated." Suddenly, her dark eyes widen and she yelled, "These numbers are off; there's still someone on the ship!"

Landry joined Sam in their chorused, "WHAT?!"

Any reply from the alien woman was cut off by Daniel saying, "Here they come."

Landry pushed the forgotten crewmember to the back of his mind as he turned to Mitchell, "Shields at maximum; evasive maneuvers! Concentrate fire on only one target; one at a time." He was hoping for a repeat performance of their earlier success with shooting down a ship and then retreating only to take on another one at latter time.

Besides, it was their only chance if Carter couldn't disengage the core.

The bridge was suddenly filled with smoke and sparks as the ship started taking on damage. "Ok, that was not good!"

Daniel threw a look at Cam before yelling, "Shields are down to 23%!"

"We're hitting them with everything we've got!" Cam shouted as their screens showed one of the Ori ships suddenly exploding into a ball of fire. The feeling of accomplishment at finally leveling the playing field to one-on-one was short-lived as the Odyssey took on another hit; the violent shaking of the ship causing SG-1 to be thrown out of their chairs.

A broken piped was now spewing steam into the bridge as Teal'c regained his footing, a fire breaking out behind him as the consoles continued to spit sparks. Grabbing an extinguisher, he tried to quell the flames now spreading through the back of the bridge.

Daniel, climbing back into his chair, yelled over the den of noise now filling the bridge, "Shields are offline!"

"One more hit will take us out!"

Hearing Cam's warning, Landry called out, "Colonel Carter!"

Sam was still crawling back towards her console from she had been thrown to when she heard Landry's command.

She had failed. They were not going to make it through this because she hadn't been able to dislodge the core before the attack; they were out of time.

She reached the console and pulled herself up, not knowing what it was she was about to do or if there was anything she should or could do. By her count, the Ori had already pushed the button and they were as good as dead.

Until she saw him.

Jack was standing on the other side of the console, clutching at his side, looking at her with pleading eyes and an ashen face. As their eyes met, she had only one thought: 'If we only had more time...' Her eyes widen and she quickly took a control crystal and slid it into the right position.

Their time wasn't up just yet.

* * *

- - Hope y'all enjoyed it; reviews are love!  
- - PS: The next chapter is the first one where they are stuck in time!


	6. A Promise Kept

Thanks to all who have reviewed; you guys are awesome!  
I'm still not happy with this chapter for some reason but then again, I'm a perfectionist at times and nothing is ever perfect... Alas, a clueless Jack makes me smile so he makes an appearance and makes this chapter oh so much better in my opinion. Enjoy!

**NeverEnding 6/?  
****Title: **A Promise Kept  
**Author:** Chozen Rogue  
**Rating:** Teen; language, sexuality, character death  
**Characters:** Jack/Sam; Team; Landry; Thor  
**Summary:** What if Jack was indeed on the Odyssey during the events of "Unending?"  
**Spoilers:** Unending (Duh!); **8x22 Threads  
****Disclaimer:** Stargate: SG-1 belongs to MGM, Double Secret Productions, and Gekko Films. I just took the characters out for a spin.

* * *

**AFTER THE ORI ATTACK**

Daniel walked over to where Sam was reading over the information that she was about to relay to the rest of the team and gently settled a hand on her shoulder. Turning to look at him, she smiled, "Hey, how is he?"

"Worn out." He grinned at her and added, "You know Jack, always pushing till he drops... Literally." They shared a moment as both remembered the way the injured man had collapsed after the battle had quieted, luckily without tearing his stitches. Shaking off the memory, Daniel rubbed the back of his neck in a tired motion. "Sam, did you know he was staying?"

Shaking her head slowly, she replied, "No, I had no idea. To my knowledge, he was going to leave with the rest..." Her head lolled back slightly and then she sighed heavily. "We said our goodbyes, Daniel. I don't know why he stayed."

Daniel quirked an eyebrow as he watched Sam fidget with the controls in front of her; even a blind man could have figured out Jack had stayed for her but Daniel figured he would continue to play dumb. Both Sam and Jack seemed content to.

"Well, whatever his reasons are, I'm sorta glad he's here." She looked up at him, "I feel better just knowing that the old gang is back together, you know? Like we can accomplish anything."

She let out a snort, "We did."

Daniel threw a grin at her as he saw Teal'c enter the room and waved the tall man over to them. "Did Jack give you any trouble?"

"No; O'Neill is now resting."

Laying a hand on the Jaffa's arm, Sam squeezed lightly and smile up at him, "Thank you for taking him back, Teal'c."

He tilted his head and then the group broke up and Daniel and Teal'c took seats around the briefing room table; Landry, Mitchell, and Vala taking theirs as well.

Sam walked over to the screen facing the table and activated it; a diagram of the Odyssey surrounded by a bubble appearing on it. "Thanks to Asgard technology, we are in a time dilation bubble. While time may appear to be passing at a normal rate for us," she paused slightly; she could already see their reactions forming in her mind, "in fact, years will pass inside the bubble while mere fractions of a second will pass outside the field."

There was a moment of silence and then Landry asked, "You won't need that much time though?"

"Hopefully not." Sam moved toward the table, she was beginning to feel as though she was about to have an anxiety attack. She had never been shy when it came to public speaking but this wasn't a lecture or even a strategic meeting. Sam was asking her friends to put their lives on hold for the slim chance that this plan she was about to describe would work.

"My plan is to try and make the necessary modifications to the Odyssey so we can take it out of phase." She could hear her words increase in pace, either with excitement or with panic, she wasn't sure. "Then when we shut down the time dilation field; the blast won't hit us."

"That would be good," Daniel said, hopefully.

"Probably wondering why I didn't just do that in the first place..."

She laughed uneasily as Cameron jumped in, "I'm still back on the time thing."

"The Asgard core has time dilation technology built right into it." Sam thought back to the moment when it had occurred to her that it was even possible. Had Jack not been standing there, would she have even thought about using the technology? "It was a quick and easy option."

She hesitated as she ventured forth in her explanation. "I'm actually going to have to recreate some of Merlin's out of phase technology from scratch," Mitchell suddenly looked like he was about to be sick, "with what we have on board. And it could take a while."

"Just to be sure, how long is a while? In our time?" Daniel made a slight hand gestured to get across the difference.

"I'm not exactly sure but we have enough food and water for three months." Daniel's head fell back onto his shoulders, while everyone else stared at her; Sam felt her stomach drop.

Vala was the first to speak and when she did, her voice resonated with shock, "Three months?"

Landry, immediately feeling the tension rise in the room, jumped in, "We can ration supplies."

Vala, not hearing nor caring about what Landry had just said, leaned into Daniel and whispered harshly, "I'm going to go crazy and I'm taking you with me!" For his part, Daniel just rolled his eyes at the melodramatic statement.

"Of course, if it takes a little longer..."

"Whoa!" Cam held out a hand and stopped Sam, "Whoa. Longer than three months?"

"Bottom line is," Landry stood and started out of the room, giving point looks to the five under his command, "none of you are gonna have any excuse for being behind on your paperwork." And with that, he left the room.

An awkward silence settled over the room as everyone turned to look back at Sam. She heard Vala force out a laugh at the General's failed attempt at humor but she could only concentrate on the unease that had settle into her stomach. Smiling awkwardly, Sam's only thought was, 'I am so screwed.'

*****

Jack looked up as his door chimed, "Come in!" The shirt he had in his hands lay forgotten as he watched the door slide open and Sam walked in, only to sop as she saw him.

"Oh sorry," she pointed to the door, "I could come back."

Shaking his head he motioned for her to move further into the room and then shrugged into the buttoned shirt. "Don't worry about, I just had my first shower," he made quotation marks in the air at the word and Sam knew it had really been a sponge bath, "since the ordeal; you just caught me in the middle of dressing."

She could tell and it was doing things to her hormones that she wasn't comfortable with. He looked better than he had yesterday and she could tell that moving around still hurt him but damn did he look he good standing in front her now. His shirt was still unbuttoned, revealing his long torso and his pants were slung low due to the fact that he hadn't gotten around to buttoning those either; all together he looked like something straight out of her fantasies, even with the bandages.

She really needed to leave.

"So Carter," he dipped his head as he started buttoning up his shirt, "what do I owe the pleasure of this unexpected visit?" When he looked back up at her, and saw her hesitate somewhat before answering.

"Uh," again her mind wondered as he reached down and fastened his pants but she quickly continued, "I just wanted to check and see how you were doing, especially after everything that happened yesterday." Trying in vain to keep her mind off him, Sam walked over to the chair in front of his desk and sat down. "And to fill you in on our current situation."

A brief smile crossed his face as he took his own seat on the bed. "Landry visited me at some un-Godly hour this morning, that no human in their right mind should be up at, to give me a clean set of clothes, conveniently leaving out underwear, and brief me." Sam's laughed died before it reached her lips as a small painful groan suddenly escaped him as he settled back against the wall. Once he found a comfortable position, he turned his attention back to her. "So Carter, you get bored and decide to turn us into a science experiment?"

Sam stared at him at him for a moment; that sentence had hurt her and she tried not to show it as his eyes shone with gentle teasing. No one had spoken to her since she had given them the news the night before and she was sure that they all blamed her for their current condition. Why wouldn't they?

But he hadn't been there and didn't know that his comment made her feel guiltier than she already did, so she threw him a small grin and hoped it didn't look forced. "Yes, Sir, I guess you could say that."

"Figured."

A moment of silence passed till he began to fidget and then he let out a small sigh of frustration. Raising an eyebrow and not bothering to hide the amusement in her voice, she asked, "Getting a bit stir-crazy, Sir?"

"Ha, ha, ha," he voiced as he shot her a glare, which was ruined by the twitching of his mouth as he fought off a grin. "It's nice to know that even in my wounded state you can find humor in my pain."

Not falling for his routine, she shot back, "With all due respect General, you were the one who decided to take a walk around the ship in a fire fight."

He snorted, "Oh and lemme tell you about it: it was fun!"

She dipped her head to try and hide the small giggle that escaped her, all but missing the amused look he shot her as the sound reached his ears. He loved her smile but it was that damn giggle-thing she did that made him feel like he was on cloud nine. Looking back up at him, Sam said, "I bet it was."

They fell into an easy silence, and she took the opportunity to study his quarters. It wasn't the V.I.P. room that had his belongings in it, but at least he had a bed, sink, and desk. All a soldier really needed but she knew he was going crazy without his things to keep him occupied, like his yo-yo that she had seen him play with earlier in the week. "I'm going to check the bottom levels this afternoon and hopefully I can get you back in your quarters tonight. Or at least get your stuff."

"That would be nice, I miss clean underwear and it's only been a day." He blinked, "Damn, I guess riding a desk did make me soft."

"Well, to be fair," Sam picked up his jacket that had been slung over the desk, and pointed at the large patch of dried blood, "even I would be having some problems, Sir."

That patented Jack O'Neill smirk appeared, "Oh goody, I won't be getting soft alone." Suddenly, the jacket that Sam had been holding was tossed at the General, who caught it before it hit his face. "Hey! I could call that 'assaulting a commanding officer'!"

"Sorry, Sir," she feigned innocence at the sight of the laughter in his eyes, "it slipped."

"Yeah, I bet," he tossed the offending jacket to the floor and leaned his head against the bulkhead. "When are you going to ask me?"

Her eyes flew to his dark ones in confusion at the sudden change in topic. "What?"

"Come on, Carter; you know what I'm talking about."

As it dawned on her, Sam felt the tension build slightly in the room and she looked away before voicing, "Why'd you stay, Sir?"

"I had a promise to keep."

Again, her eyes were drawn to him and she stared at him. There was something in his voice that scared her and yet, made a part of her fill with warmth. "A promise?" Sam hated how weak her voice had sounded.

With no hesitation, he answered, "I remember distinctly telling you 'always'."

She felt her eyes start to burn as the memory of her father's death swam into her mind. Moments before Jacob Carter had called his daughter to his bed to tell her he loved her, she had been taking comfort in the arms of a man. A man that had been and still was her superior officer and definitely not the man she had been engaged to at the time. That man had told that he would always be there for her and apparently he still held true to it.

"Carter?"

She couldn't help it as she ran the back of her hand against her nose and cleared her throat, "Sir?"

"I'm glad I stayed," he shrugged, "no matter how long it takes, I'm glad."

Her smile hesitated and then became a full fledge one as she said, "Me too."

His face lit up with a crooked grin, "Plus, it'll be so much more fun with me around!" As the thought of how much trouble the General could get into being stuck in the tin can that was the Odyssey came to her, Sam couldn't help the groan that escaped her.

"What?" Jack was looking at her in confusion as she slowly shook her head, "What?!"

* * *

- - Hope you guys enjoyed it! Reviews are love!


	7. Escalation

Thanks to everyone who reviewed; I've enjoyed reading comments and hearing your critque!  
Ok, so this took much longer to get up than I had planned and half of the problem was that I HATED this chapter when I first wrote it. But with re-reading it, I realised what was missing and after I had added it in, I loved it. It's funny how adding a third character to a scene can just change everything and suddenly make something that hadn't been working, work. Plus, we finally get to know what happened after Sam kicked Jack out of her lab!  
Any-hoo, here's the next chapter (finally!); enjoy!

**NeverEnding 7/?  
****Title: **Escalation  
**Author:** Chozen Rogue  
**Rating:** Teen; language, sexuality, character death  
**Characters:** Jack/Sam; Team; Landry; Thor  
**Summary:** What if Jack was on the Odyssey during the events of "Unending?"  
**Spoilers:** Unending (Duh!)  
**Disclaimer:** Stargate: SG-1 belongs to MGM, Double Secret Productions, and Gekko Films. I just took the characters out for a spin.

* * *

**TWO WEEKS AFTER THE ORI ATTACK**

Daniel sighed as Teal'c entered his make shift lab, where he was studying the Asgard database; he had almost forgotten about the meeting. It had been two weeks since Sam had told them rest of them that they would be stuck here for at least three months and he had a sinking suspicion that her estimate was about to increase.

He shut off the computer and met Teal'c at the door; looking the Jaffa up and down he commented, "What's wrong?" At the arched eyebrow, Daniel elaborated, "You look like your about to punch a hole in the wall."

"I have just come from inventorying the last of the supplies."

Nodding in his sudden understanding, Daniel started out of the lab. "Vala has a habit of doing that to people."

"I am trained to ignore such feelings but I do find her," Teal'c searched for the right word, "most irritating at times."

"I bet you do," Daniel said with a smile in his voice. "So, besides wanting to throw her out of the nearest airlock, what have we found out about the supply issue?"

"If rationed, I believe we could last longer than three months."

Horrified at the prospect, Daniel stopped and turned towards Teal'c, "Let's not mention that to anyone, three months is going to be long enough."

Raising an eyebrow, the other man asked, "So you are confident in Colonel Carter's ability?"

Daniel closed his eyes and sighed heavily. "I know that Sam can do this, I mean she's done everything else, but I just not sure if three months is enough time."

Tilting his head, Teal'c turned and continued down the corridor only to have Sam herself come into view further down the hallway. Seeing that she hadn't noticed them, Daniel called out, "Hey Sam! Wait up!"

She stopped and waited for them to catch up with her, "You on your way to the briefing?"

"Yeah, Teal'c came to get me."

Smiling at the blue-eyed man, Sam nudged him with her shoulder. "Meaning, he needed to remind you because you got caught up with work?"

"Indeed."

Both turned to see a strange gleam relected in the eyes of Apophis's former first prime. Recognizing it immediately, Daniel loudly whispered, "Traitor."

Shaking her head as she bit back a laugh, Sam started walking again. "Come on guys, we're gonna be late."

"Which would be a travesty since you are the key speaker." Sam's hand shot out and smacked Daniel's chest, "Ow! It was a joke!"

Hearing the obvious laughter in the man's voice, Teal'c ignored the outburst and turned his attention to the woman next to him. "May I ask you a question, Colonel?"

"Teal'c, we've been friends for ten years now, you needn't ask." Daniel smiled in response to Sam's slight frustration; even after all these years, the former Jaffa's extreme formality could still annoy her.

Teal'c tilted his head and voiced, "Do you know why O'Neill was acting strangely today?" Sam shot him a confused looked. "He did not seem himself when he was in the sparring room with Mitchell and me."

Intrigued by this information but having no doubt of the reason for Jack's behavior, Daniel asked, "How so?"

"Mitchell and I both tried to have him join our sparring match but he would not accept. Instead, he chose to sit quietly in a corner." As they reached the lift doors, Sam and Daniel glanced at one another; a quiet Jack O'Neill was typically a dangerous one. "He was morose."

The doors to the elevator slid open and they stepped into it, an awkward silence settling over them. Daniel, acutely aware of the sudden change in the atmosphere traded glances with Teal'c, hit the button for the command deck. As the floor shuddered slightly, signaling that they had started moving, he took a moment to study Sam. She was staring resolutely at the polished surface of the doors in front of her.

Crossing her arms, she finally said, "I sort of kicked him out of the lab earlier."

One eyebrow arched on Teal'c's forehead as Daniel shook his head, he had come to the same conclusion that Jack's mood had been caused by this event. At their reactions, Sam hastily added, "He broke one of my magnifying glasses!"

There was another awkward pause as the elevator came to a stop and the doors slid open.

"O'Neill's apparent obsession with glass objects aside, you should not have done that."

The Colonel felt her jaw drop as the Teal'c stepped out of the lift, followed by Daniel. She watched them as they walked away, moving only when the doors started to close again. Leaving the lift behind her, she ran to catch up with them. "Why is the General's mood my fault?"

Finally voicing his opinion, Daniel said, "Look Sam, Teal'c isn't blaming you but I was there. Jack did seem a bit put out when I talked to him." She stared at his in confusion and he clarified. "I was there when you kicked him out; saw the whole thing."

Sam's horrified expression at someone seeing the slightly insubordinate event was disregarded by Teal'c as he voiced his own opinion. "He is also currently having problems coping with the physical aftermath of the attack and having to be contained within this ship."

Glancing from Teal'c to Daniel, she sighed; Sam could feel a headache coming on. "That's not my fault."

"No, it isn't," the larger man's expression softened, "but he has always been and is attached to you." Her blue eye met his dark ones in shock. "You share a bond and by shutting him out, you seemed to have affected him greatly."

And with that, Teal'c turned and walked down the hallway to disappear around a corner, leaving Daniel and her to stare after him.

Daniel's attention quickly turned to Sam as he heard her body sag against the bulkhead. "You okay?"

At her weak nod, he laid a hand on her shoulder and squeezed, "Nobody blames you."

Meeting his eyes, Sam straightened, "So you said." Smiling a bitter smile, Daniel turned to follow the direction Teal'c had gone. Watching him leave her there in the hallway, Sam had the overwhelming desire to hit something appear.

She about to tell her friends that they were stuck here for at least another two weeks because every simulation still ended with the Odyssey exploding, taking them with it. Plus, she still wasn't anywhere close to being able to replicate Merlin's device because of this data.

She had thought the time dilation field was a savior; a way to buy them the time they needed. But now, she was convinced that she was just prolonging their deaths.

And to top everything off, she now had to deal with the fact that she had managed to hurt Jack's feelings. All she had wanted was peace and quiet to work in and he had been driving her crazy! Wasn't her sanity just as important as his?

Sighing, she continued her way towards the control room, knowing that the universe wasn't going to give her a break on this one.

*****

"All right, now that Colonel Carter is here, let's get started." As soon as the words were out of Landry's mouth, the sound of chairs scraping filled the room.

Carter watched as SG-1 and the General took their seats, with the exception of Mitchell who had remained standing, and immediately noticed that there was a person missing. Scanning the room, her eyes settled on O'Neill leaning against the window, completely removed from the group. When their eyes met, she quickly averted hers and started the briefing.

"Before I tried to build Merlin's out of phase technology, I decided to run a simulation," she pressed a button to begin the simulation behind her, which showed the Odyssey exploding after being hit by the Ori weapon.

Exasperated, Cam asked, "Are you saying it took two weeks to figure out this idea wouldn't work?"

Landry threw the upset man a pointed look as General O'Neill said, "Colonel, let her finish." Mitchell nodded his apology and turned back to Sam who had closed her eyes in a heavy sigh.

"I'm sorry," Carter turned and walked towards the view screen, "I've been trying to adjust the parameters." She crossed over to Landry, and planted herself in front of him, "Now the problem is, according to Thor, I can't seem to take this ship out of phase before I shut down the field." Everyone in the room tried to ignore the sound of Jack's head dropping back and hitting the window behind him. "And once we deactivate the time dilation field we have .86 seconds before the blast hits us and that just isn't enough time to take the ship out of phase."

"Ok…time for plan B," Sam saw Mitchell's knuckles turn white as his grip on the console tightened.

"Actually, I ran that simulation too," she gripped the crystal in front of her and moved it causing the simulation to reset itself. "If we beam ourselves into the buffer, ready to transport down to the planet, and set the time dilation field to deactivate on a timer," she moved the crystal again to show the Odyssey blowing up again, but this time it also took out a white stream exiting the ship, "the matter stream still doesn't have enough time to fully exit the buffer and get clear of the explosion."

"Fine," again Cam grounded out, "plan C: we go to the 302s. That's how I got off the Korelov."

Sam dipped her head and said, "Ran that too." She started to move down the console, the anxiety in the room gaining her attention, "Based on the way the Odyssey's going to be hit compared to the Korelov; it won't work."

Jack suddenly left his chair, in a fashion that Sam was sure pulled at the still sensitive stitches along his torso and leaned his forehead against the cool window facing the Ori torpedo. Vala puffed out her cheeks as she turned to Daniel, while everyone else just stared at up at her.

"The computer's wrong," Cameron looked as though his body was about to snap from the tension that was emanating from him in waves. Sam couldn't help roll her eyes at his statement; of course the computer would be wrong to him.

"Both of the last two scenarios don't preserve the ship or the Asgard knowledge."

Sam looked down in defeat, "I know." Leave it to Daniel to worry about the survival of a now extinct race's knowledge; she agreed, of course, but she had already come to the conclusion that Thor's race would indeed die along with the ship.

Landry turned his chair to face the rest of SG-1 and said, "Ok, it's only been a couple of weeks." Sam couldn't help but feel disappointed as she heard the exasperation in the General's voice. He was helping her but he wasn't enjoying it.

"I'm having a problem with the word 'only'," Vala voiced.

"The good news is," Sam paused and seriously doubted that no matter how much awe she managed to put into her voice, that the people in front of her wouldn't agree with this 'good news', "the Asgard have provided us with some truly amazing technology." Just as she predicted, no one looked thrilled, not even Daniel.

"Just nothing to get us out of this mess." Sam was this close to decking Cam, god he could be an ass at times; couldn't he see that she was trying? Which seemed to be a hell of a lot more than he was contributing at the moment!

"I don't know that yet. However," Sam prayed that her next bit of information would lighten the mood somewhat, "with only a slight modification to the beaming technology we have a matter converter that will literally allow us to manufacture food, water, oxygen, and pretty much anything we need."

"Except a way off this ship."

Landry opened his mouth to say something, as Sam's head fell to her hands on the console, but Jack's voice rang through the lab, "For crying out loud! That's enough, Mitchell!"

All of the room turned to give him a weary look, including Sam whose head had risen in shock at the sound of his voice. He was still staring out of the window but his body had become rigid and a sense of authority was radiating from him.

Daniel smiled at the intimidating scene. He was as frustrated with this situation as Cam, but there was no need to be treating Sam like that.

Landry turned his chair to Cam, "As General O'Neill has already pointed out: You've made your point son. I doubt very much Colonel Carter has even scratched the surface of what's possible." With that said, Landry lifted himself off his chair, "Just give her some more time."

He moved towards the exit and looked to Jack as the man came over to him, only to pass him without even a glance. Landry shook his head at the man's actions; he had known Jack O'Neill a long time and to see him in such state was as bad as watching Mitchell make an ass out of himself.

SG-1 watched as both Generals left the lab and as soon as they were out of ear-shot, Mitchell kicked the console in front of him, causing everyone, except for Teal'c, to jump. They all watched as Cameron stormed out of the room, Vala following shortly there after.

Soon after their departure, Teal'c crossed the room over to where Sam was still standing and laid a hand on her shoulder. Her own came up to clasp his, which squeezed her hand in a comforting gesture. Daniel, who hadn't moved, quietly reiterated, "Sam, none of this if you fault."

Sam let herself fall slightly back against Teal'c's chest and whispered, "Yes, it is."

* * *

- - Hope y'all enjoyed it! Feel free to leave a review and tell how I am doing or what I could change.


	8. Letting Go

A/N: So yeah, *blushes* I won't even begin to explain why it's been over a month since the last update... There's just no way I could explain it. LOL - any-hoo, here is the next part!  
Sorry for the angst, I swear the next part is actually light-hearted.

**NeverEnding 8/?  
****Title: **Letting Go  
**Author:** Chozen Rogue  
**Rating:** Teen; language, sexuality, character death  
**Characters:** Jack/Sam; Team; Landry; Thor  
**Summary:** What if Jack was on the Odyssey during the events of "Unending?"  
**Spoilers:** Unending (Duh!); whole series, will specify if anything major comes up  
**Disclaimer:** Stargate: SG-1 belongs to MGM, Double Secret Productions, and Gekko Films. I just took the characters out for a spin.  
**A/N:** As with most people, I had some serious problems with the series finale, mainly centering around the fact that Jack O'Neill wasn't in it. So I decided to remedy that matter… Mostly in effect to drive Sam insane.

* * *

"It's been a month since the attack and it seems that Sam isn't anywhere closer to finding a way out of this situation than she was when we started."

Daniel leaned back in his chair and sighed into the recorder. "Though it's not as if she's had any help with finding a solution. I've been combing through the Asgard database in hopes that I'll be able to find something, anything, that could benefit her but since I'm not an astrophysicist, I might just be looking in the wrong place."

His eyes scanned the room that he had now come to call his home, and shrugged, "I guess we've all come to deal with what has happened in our own way."

"Cameron has become an exercise-fiend, always pushing his body to its limits so he doesn't have to deal with the reality of being stuck and not able to help in finding a way off this ship."

Leaning forward, Daniel rested his elbows on his desk, cradling the device to his mouth. "Vala has become even more eclectic, wondering through the ship during the day trying to keep busy doing things only Vala would dream of doing, but most of the time, she's in Sam's lab or quarters. Actually, Sam told me that Vala has started sleeping in her quarters..." Daniel closed his eyes, and whispered, "I think this place scares her."

He stared at the desk for a moment, before shaking his head and clearing his throat. "General Landry and Teal'c," he continued, "have both shown impossible patience to all of the neurotic behavior going around. Teal'c spends most of his time in the exercise rooms sparring with Cam or helping Sam clear out the debris from the lower levels; there was even a week where he helped Jack with his rehabilitation after his side had healed enough." A smile spread over his mouth as the next words left his mouth. "Plants have become the General's new obsession, tending to them day or night. Reminds me of when Jack use to tease Sam for talking to her plants."

"Which now bring me to the last individuals on the Odyssey, who at this point, are not on the best terms." Getting up off his chair, Daniel walked over to the window and looked out to where the Ori missile stood frozen in space. "I'm still not quite sure how they've gone two weeks without saying more than ten words to each other since the incident in the lab. I mean this is Jack and Sam, they strive for the other's attention at all times; hell, it even seems instinctual now."

"With Jack, I think it's a combination of loosing Thor, being stuck on this ship, and being completely removed from everything he enjoyed..." An evil smiled crossed his face, "That is, except for Sam," but it fell from his face as soon it had came about. "When she kicked him out, I think it hurt him because she was removing that one last thing that was keeping him from thinking about all that had happened. Jack doesn't deal with loss, he runs away from it, ergo, his avoidance of Sam."

As he sat down on the edge of the bed that was near the window, Daniel's expression became somber. "It's like we've gone back in time to when we were on Abydos the first time, always withdrawn and only talking when addressed to. Hell," he threw up a hand in a frustrated gesture, "Teal'c can't even get him have a conversation."

Shaking his head, "So now, with Sam and Jack not talking, she spends all of her time working on simulations and he spends his time in the sparring rooms watching Cam and Teal'c, or jogging through the ship with Cam. But the upside is, I think there might be a reconciliation in the works; Sam came to me today and told me that she has finally – "

A chimed echoed through the quarters, signaling that someone was at his door. Hitting the stop button on the recorder, he crossed over to the entrance wondering who would be at his door at this hour. Praying that it was Sam coming to tell him that she had a solution, he thumbed the keypad.

As the doors slid open, Daniel blinked. It definitely wasn't Sam.

He slowly took in the sight of Vala standing there in a pink teddy holding... Dear God, were those handcuffs?

As his mind registered what was happening, he noticed she was about to open her mouth to say something and his hand shot up to the keypad, effectively cutting her off as the doors slid shut.

Turning away, Daniel brought the device that he still held to his mouth and hit record. "Much longer and this place will be a mad house." He raised an eyebrow in contemplation and added, "If it isn't already."

*****

Sam's head dropped back against the door leading to her lab; they were late and she had more research to do. Closing her eyes, she sighed heavily. One goddamn month they had been marooned on the Odyssey and she was no closer to a way of getting them off it than she was when she had started.

Plus, they still weren't talking; two weeks and not ten words had passed between the two of them.

It was his fault, he had broken the magnifying glass, and that had been enough to get him kicked out and within good reason; at the time, she had thought the thing had been irreplaceable. Things had a way of breaking, exploding, or disappearing when General Jack O'Neill got involved and she hadn't wanted another incident. Apparently, this had warranted his avoidance of her, something he hadn't done in a long time, three years to be exact; not since…

The sound of running feet and harsh breathing startled her out of her thoughts as Cameron rounded the corner and slowed as he neared her till he came to a stop in front of her, "Sam?"

"Hey, is the General with you today?" Sam peered over his shoulder curiously.

He was about to answer when Jack rounded the corner, hair plastered to his forehead with sweat, and Cam pointed to him, "There he is."

Sam gave a pointed look to Colonel Obvious, and then turned her attention to the man moving closer to them. "Sir!"

At the sound of Sam's voice, Jack stopped suddenly and his head snapped up, eyes immediately finding her. As the man walked hesitantly toward them, Cam looked at Jack and said, "Sir, I'm gonna keep going if you don't mind."

Jack waved him off, "Go on Mitchell, the knees are acting up anyways."

At Cam's nod, he threw a smile at Sam and mouthed, 'Good luck.' Her eyes widen as he started back down the hallway; did everyone know about the animosity between her and Jack?

Though the prospect of everyone knowing bothered her, Sam was glad to see that Cameron was in a good mood, something that the crew aboard the Odyssey had seen very little these past few weeks.

Turning towards Jack, Sam opened her mouth to tell him the news she had stopped him for but her train of thought ended abruptly at the sight of him. Taking in his heavy breathing, sweat slicked face, unruly hair sticking up in all directions, Sam began to think that a nice cold shower was in order.

Holy Hannah, even with the newly healed scar that stretched over his left eye and extended about an inch down his face mixed with the three thin scars on his right cheek, he was something to look at.

"Carter, did you need something?"

Her eyes snapped to his and she could feel her face heat up as he arched an eyebrow. "Uh," she cleared her voice. "I wanted to tell you," she fumbled for a second as she tried desperately to remember what she had to tell him, "um, that I've finally gotten the level your original quarters were on cleared."

His eyes lit up and he said, "You mean I can actually retrieve my stuff without getting sucked into space or something?"

Sam was tempted to explain to him that getting sucked out into space wasn't a possibility where his quarters were, more like dying in a vacuum, but she held her mouth shut. Instead she answered with, "Yes, sir; you can start moving your stuff to the upper levels whenever you want."

"Thanks!" His face had split into the first smile she had seen on his face in nearly two weeks and it felt even better knowing that she had caused it. "Well, I think I have some moving to be doing." He started towards the elevator, but stopped and turned back to her, "Hey, Carter?"

"Sir?"

"Really, thank you; I know how much you had to do to get that level cleared."

Sam felt the distinct feeling of butterflies in her stomach as she read genuine sincerity and warmth in his eyes. "Not a problem, sir." They stood there for a moment till Sam shrugged and asked, "Do you need any help?"

An easy smile appeared on his face, "Only if you have the time."

She looked at her watch and then met his eyes, "I still need to do some things but I'll be done in about thirty minutes."

"I may be done by then, but if you still want to, look me up." And with that, Jack headed back down the hallway.

Sam couldn't help but laugh when she heard the distinct sound of him whistling. As she turned and entered her lab, she knew that things with the General were looking up.

*****

Stepping over the beam that crossed the corridor, Sam made her may through the debris toward Jack's quarters. It had taken her a full week of nonstop work to get the levels that had been breached cleared to at least gather whatever usable supplies were still there. Thankfully, both Teal'c and Daniel had helped and soon the levels had been deemed safe.

As she reached the VIP room entrance, Sam saw that it was still open and there was the soft sound of paper being moved coming from inside. Rounding the corner, she smiled as Jack came into her view.

He was sitting against the bulkhead between the desk and the night stand, the only area in the room that looked like it had not been damaged in some way. The bed was bent out of shape by the heavy book shelf that had fallen on it, not to mention that glass that was strewn across it and the floor from the mirror that had obviously been smashed.

She turn her attention back to the man, who she realized still had not seen her because of the leather bound book and data pad resting across his outstretched legs. "What are you reading?"

His eyes lifted to hers in a startled gesture, "Hey!" Jack's gaze traveled back to his lap and then picked up the book to show her it, not bothering to keep his place. "It's the book Thor gave to me before..." He trailed off, his eyes staring off at an image only he could see.

At this, Sam moved into the room and over to him. Crouching down to his level, she gently reached out to take the book that was still raised. As her fingers met his, he looked up at her, the pain in his eyes shocking her as he let go of the book and brought his knees up to rest his head against, not caring as the data pad fell to the floor nor to the fact that Sam was still there to see his moment of weakness.

She knew Thor's death would affect them and had known that it would affect Jack worst of all, but it was starting to look like he hadn't fully realized it till this moment. Quietly, Sam moved to sit beside him, not bothering to remember how much space should be between them as she sat with her side flushed up against his.

At this touch, Jack turned his head and watched as she ran fingers over the book's title. The symbols that made up the name were foreign to her and when she opened the heavy tomb, she only saw a mixture of Asgard and Ancient. "Sir, this isn't in English."

"I know."

Hearing the smile in his voice, she looked up to find his eyes closed, "How were you reading it?"

"The data pad has a translation in it, and besides, I wasn't reading." At this, he reached over and flipped through several pages till he found the right page and pointed to it. "I was looking at the description."

Sam felt her breath leave her as she stared at the beautiful images decorating the open pages. They reminded her of ancient Celtic texts: slightly distorted images that were rich in color like they had been done in stain glass instead drawn on parchment. "My God," turning to the man beside her, she asked, "Thor gave this to you?"

"Yeah." Straightening to lean against the wall once again, legs still drawn up, he said, "I once asked him, on one of my diplomatic missions, if there were any books on his world."

Arching an eyebrow, Sam said, "Any advanced culture would have to have a written works."

"I realize that, but he stopped me when I said something about Harry Potter," at this, Sam nudged him with her shoulder causing him to stop. "What?"

"You told Thor about Harry Potter?"

"It was relevant!"

"In a diplomatic discussion?!" There was no way Sam could hold in her laughter at his reproachful look and in retaliation; he knocked her shoulder with his own causing her to have to brace herself against the floor or else she would have fallen completely. After a moment of trying to reign in her laughter, she pushed herself back into a sitting position against his side, smiling wildly at him.

"Are you finished?" He asked his tone serious but his eyes bright with amusement. At her nod, he continued, "Anyways, I told him it was a popular series of books and he said as a child..." He stopped suddenly and turned his body towards her, "By the way, how can a clone be a child?"

Still grinning, she answered, "Yes, Thor was a clone but he part of race who had long given up procreation which would mean that Thor could have been quite old."

"How old?"

"Heimdall said they had been cloning for a thousand years, stands to conclusion that Thor would be at least that." She shrugged, "He could have been talking about actual childhood even if it was over a thousand years ago, sir."

"Uh, wow." Jack blinked and shook his head, "Ok, with that confusing fact dealt with, lets continue." She made a motion to do just that, which he nodded to and went on, "Thor told me about this book that use to interest him when he was a child. Said that writing on paper was an extinct form of writing and that books were rare and kept in libraries open to all of the public."

He shifted his left leg and Sam was suddenly aware that his thigh was now resting along hers; she willed herself to keep listening to his explanation. "His family had special privileges and as a gift for something his father had accomplished, they were allowed to pick one book to keep as their own. Thor's father had asked him to be the one to pick and Thor picked this one."

Sam's attention was directed back to the beautiful mural and let her fingers trace the delicate lines that ran through the image. "This must have meant a lot to him."

"It did."

Suddenly, Jack's fingers joined hers on the page, making her tense at the sudden intimate gesture. Pulling back at the change in her body, Jack threw her a look and was unsure at what to do until she lifted her eyes to his and smiled.

Turning her hand from the book, her fingers caught his and brought his hand down to hers. Both of them stared at their entwined hands and Sam, without thinking, moved to lean her head against his shoulder.

Sam willed herself to stay relaxed as her eyes stayed focus on their hands. Jack's body was still rigid and she had no intention of scaring him off; she knew if he could only get past the fact that this was an extremely intimate gesture between a superior officer and a subordinate, he would calm down.

Plus, it wasn't like this was the first time they had crossed this line.

Slowly, his muscles began to relax and she felt him lay his head against her own.

Watching the thumb that was stroking the inside of her palm, she whispered, "I'm sorry."

He shifted and with his voice muffled by her hair, asked, "What?"

"For everything, for us, for Thor…" His hand tightened in hers and she added, "I'm sorry that he's gone."

"Me too." And with that, she felt him lay a kiss upon her hair, and neither of them moved for quite some time.

* * *

- - Hope you enjoyed and fell free to tell me if you hate it or love it!  
- - A quick and hearfelt THANK YOU to all those who have reviewed and have stuck by this story; more coming soon!


	9. Pondering the What Ifs

**AN:** Sorry for taking to damn long to get this up! Had some major writer's block when it came to this chapter and just couldn't get it written. But finally, it is done and the longest chapter yet.  
Enjoy!

**NeverEnding 9/?  
Title:** Pondering the What-Ifs  
**Author:** Chozen Rogue  
**Rating:** Teen; language, sexuality, character death  
**Characters:** Jack/Sam; Team; Landry; Thor  
**Summary:** What if Jack was on the Odyssey during the events of "Unending?"  
**Spoilers:** Unending (Duh!); whole series, will specify if anything major comes up  
**Disclaimer:** Stargate: SG-1 belongs to MGM, Double Secret Productions, and Gekko Films. I just took the characters out for a spin.

* * *

**SIX WEEKS AFTER THE ORI ATTACK**

"Um, sir?"

Jack lifted his head and looked over to where Carter was lying underneath a console, tool kit beside her thigh. "You need something, Carter?"

"Yes." As she started to slide her body out from beneath the disemboweled console, her shirt slid up, instantly distracting him. He barely heard her, mind racing at the possibilities of what he could do to so much freckled skin with his mouth, when she continued with, "I need your help with something."

"Um…" His brain snapped to attention when she pulled the black fabric of her shirt back down. "Uh, sorry Carter; what was that?"

When his eyes reached her face, her slight blush gave away that she knew exactly what had caused his lapse in concentration. "Can you help me with this?"

"Sure."

Closing Thor's book gently, he slid off the stool that he had been using and walked over to stand next to where she still sat on the floor. "I need you to crawl into there," she pointed to the space she had just come out of, wires hanging every which way, "I can't reach something, and I need someone to hold it while I secure it; it won't hold its weight." She eyed him. "You have longer arms than I do."

Shrugging, Jack traded places with Sam and he started to shimmy his way into the cramped area. "Jesus, I may have longer arms but I don't think you also accounted for shoulder space, Carter."

He could practically hear the eye roll in her voice as she replied, "Sorry for the inconvenience, sir."

Once he was finally all the way in the hole, he looked up in just in time to see Sam's face pop into view through all of the innards of the console; he knew she had taken the top portion off but it still surprised him. "Uh, so what now?"

"Do you see a round black object near you left hand?"

Maneuvering a bit to clearly see where his hand was, he saw something that resembled what she had told him, "Is it connected to some yellow and orange wires?"

"Yes, I need you to gently fit it into this slot here." He felt her feet shift near his legs and then her arm was reaching down to point to an indention and an electrical socket in the side of the metal.

She helped him move some of the wires out of the way as he slowly brought it up and into the place to carefully plug it into the socket. "Ok, now can you hold it while I wire and secure it?"

Hearing a grunt from the man buried in the mass of cables and metal, Sam grabbed a screwdriver and some bolts. "Just as a warning, sir: I may drop some of these."

"I have complete confidence in you to not do that, Colonel." She couldn't help the slight snort that escaped her as she starting going about the process of bolting down the object.

Ten minutes later, and three bolts lost, Jack grumbled, "Carter if you're not done in the next ten seconds, I'm going to let go even if you have not finished and this thing falls!"

"Just a minute more, sir." She was hurriedly working on the last screw.

"I can't feel my arms anymore!"

"There!" Even before the words had left her mouth, his hands had dropped in an exhausted huff.

Replacing the screwdriver, she reached back into the console and started to connect the wires all the while watching him as he laid there, breathing and looking a bit pained. "Are you ok?"

His eyes, barely distinguishable in the darkness blinked up at her. "You betcha if you don't count the fact that my arms will now have to be amputated."

She didn't even bother to hide the roll of eyes as she connected the last of the cables, bringing the console back to life. The insides illuminated, casting Jack in a rich blue light, and she smile down at him. "Time to come out now, sir."

At a few moments of struggling and few mumbled curses, Sam lent Jack her hand and helped him up off the floor. As soon as he was standing, he suddenly lost his balance and fell heavily into her; using the console for support, Sam quickly asked, "Sir! Are you okay?"

Still putting weight against her, he nodded slightly. "Uh yeah, just a bit light headed…"

Sam's eyebrow arched as he finally straightened himself and smoothed down the front of his sweatshirt. "Sorry about that Carter."

"It's okay." Her hand was still resting on his arm. "I just don't want you passing out on me."

He snorted and she visibly relaxed when he smirked at her. "Don't worry; just a bit of old age catching up with me."

****

"Hey, Jack."

O'Neill raised his head from his arms and looked up to see Daniel staring down at him. Wincing, he said, "Daniel."

Taking a seat next to him at the table, Daniel pointed to the man across from him, "What's wrong?"

"Just a headache." Rubbing at the bridge of his nose, Jack sighed and then met Daniel's eyes. "So what's up?"

"Escaping Vala."

Snorting lightly, Jack said, "Y'know, you can't avoid her forever. It's been over a month since we got marooned on this ship, you're gonna have to face her sometime."

"No, I don't."

"Oh, for cryin' out loud, Daniel!" The man's eyes from across him widen and Jack shrugged an apology for his reaction. "Look Danny-boy, any man in his right mind would give anything to have a woman like Vala chasing after them." At Daniel's look, he added, "I mean look at her!"

A smile crossed the younger man's face at his friend's enthusiasm but it quickly melted as Jack continued, "She's beautiful and incredibly into you, what's the hold-up?"

"It's not the simple, Jack."

"How so? You cannot look me in the eye and tell me you're not interested."

"Yes – no – yes, I can!" The General rose an eyebrow causing Daniel to let out a frustrated sigh, "Dammit Jack, drop it!"

Shaking his head, O'Neill leaned forward. "Not until you tell me why you keep pushing her away."

Standing up, Daniel moved towards the door before turning back and meeting his friend's eyes. "You know, Jack, I could be asking you the same thing."

O'Neill's eyes hardened. "What?"

"I'm talking about when you're going to get off you ass and tell Sam how you feel." Jack turned his eyes towards the table as he heard Daniel storm out of the room.

Glaring at the polished surface, Jack tried to focus on the pounding sensation that was now threatening to split his skull open. Anything to not let Daniel's words plant themselves in his consciousness.

As his treacherous mind kept turning over his conversation with Daniel, Jack whispered, "Too late."

****

Hearing the door slide open, Sam looked up to see Teal'c and Landry walk into the control room. "Teal'c, General."

"Colonel Carter, I would like to talk with you about procuring another set of tretonin." He placed a small crate in front of her.

Smiling at him, she pushed her chair over to the Asgard replicator, "Just give me a second to bring up the information and…" Her fingers flew over the keypad and then, with a flourish, she pressed the last button. "Here we go: a month's supply of tretonin!"

Teal'c walked to the area where the vials had replicated and proceeded to load the crate with them. "Thank you, Colonel Carter." Having filled the crate, he picked it up and then turned to Sam again, "Vala informed you that it was her turn to cook and she would love the company in both cooking and eating."

Sam smiled. "I'll be there, thanks Teal'c."

He tilted his head and then left the lab, leaving the unusually quite general with her. "Sir?"

Both of his eyebrows rose, as he commented distractedly, "Hmm?" At her bemused look, clarity shone in his eyes and he laughed slightly, "Sorry bout that Carter, was just thinking about whether or not I should skip tonight's dinner; Vala's cooking never sits well with me afterwards."

Sam bit back a laugh, though she did nothing to hide the amusement in her voice as she said, "Just remember that it's either an upset stomach or an angry Vala."

Landry snorted. "I will and thank you for the warning."

"No problem." Suddenly, she wondered whether his visit was business or social. "Did you need something, sir?"

"Actually, I did." He leaned against her table as she rolled her chair back towards it. "I wanted to know if you've made any progress on getting us out of here."

The sudden heavy feeling of guilt once again settled in the pit of her stomach. "No, sir."

"Anything new?"

"Some theories seemed promising but Thor said that each one was impossible."

A look of surprise crossed Landry's face. "Did you just say 'Thor', Colonel?"

Wincing at her slip of the tongue, she answered, "Yes, sir."

As she searched though the mess of papers lining her work area, Sam cursed herself for saying anything at all. The Thor Program had been a secret that she had wanted to keep as long as she could, if only to save Jack from any pain seeing him might cause. She finally found she had been looking for and held up a small remote for Landry to see. Pressing one of its many buttons, a vision of Thor materialized; its massive, black eyes blinking up at them.

"It's designed as a way for me to interact with the computer using a familiar visual and audio stimulus." As Landry reached out to touch the figure his hand passed through it causing a shimmering rainbow effect on the image. "It's a hologram, sir."

He nodded. "I can see that Colonel." Then suddenly, his eyes caught hers and he asked, "Does Jack know?"

Shaking her head, she answered, "No. I've only known how to work it for the last three weeks and have only used a coupled of times since then."

"Using it rarely might be wise, at least right now." He sighed heavily at what Jack's reaction might be if he walked in on a hologram of Thor. The younger man was still dealing with Thor's death but the book that they were now all accustomed to seeing him carrying seemed to be helping. Especially in Jack's never ending boredom.

Looking at the hologram again, Landry was prompted to ask, "Does it help; having him here?"

"Sometimes." She felt his gaze leave Thor to settle on her again. "He's extremely helpful in learning how to use and further integrate the Asgard technology, but other than that, especially when helping me with our problem, he's a bit annoying." She shrugged and then a guilty smile slid over her face, "I tend to shut him off for a couple of days when that happens."

Landry smiled as he nodded. "I see, well… Keep up the good work Colonel." He pushed off the console and started his way out of the room before turning back. "Sam?"

Her eyes met his. "Sir?"

"I know you've been pushing yourself pretty hard lately trying to get us home," he gave her another warm smile, "but don't forget to have fun once in a while."

She opened her mouth to respond but he cut her off with a raised hand. "Look, I know you're going to say that you are having fun, but you also need to relax, Colonel. You're no good to us if you're burned out."

She watched him leave and sighed heavily as the truth hit her like a ten ton brick: She was tired.

Everyone on board had found something to do with the time that wasn't spent working on something integral to the ship's function or repair, but her, nothing. Actually, she couldn't remember the last thing she read that didn't involve a set of equations or technical instructions. And that definitely wasn't a good sign.

But what could she do? Teal'c and Cam enjoyed sparring and working out together, and Landry had his plants. Vala and Jack… Well, she wasn't exactly sure what they did to bide their time here. They usually just wandered through the ship and latched onto whoever they came across.

That still left the question of what she could do when none of the things anyone else did on the ship interested her that much. Maybe something she had always wanted to do but never had the time? What was there for a woman who had spent the last ten years off-world or in the sub-basement of Cheyenne Mountain?

Suddenly, an idea entered her mind.

*****

Jack was still fuming as he wandered through the Odyssey an hour after his argument with Daniel. He hated himself for getting cornered like that, for allowing Daniel to get under his skin, but dammit, the archeologist was right.

Abruptly, Jack turned and kicked the bulkhead. And he made sure to kick it hard, taking out all of his frustration in the one movement. Feeling the collision reverberate up his leg with a white, hot fury, he placed his forehead against the wall and breathed through the throbbing pain.

Shifting his weight to his good leg, Jack sighed. Daniel was right; he was afraid.

Afraid of this thing with Carter and what it would mean if he finally allowed himself...

Breathing deeply, Jack let his mind drift through the what-ifs.

What if she didn't feel the same anymore? After all, it had been six years and one engagement since they admitted what they felt for each other. Or at least implied that they had feelings for one another due to some goddamn Tok'Ra lie detector. His eyebrow arched.

What if nothing happened? What if they had wasted too much time and they weren't able to make it work? Jack had a feeling that he'd rather hear that she didn't want him compared to that fate. Feeling these feelings and knowing for sure she still felt them while not being able to being able to be together would be so much worse than not knowing for sure either way.

Smiling, Jack mumbled, "Well, my love-life has turned into a cliché…"

Shaking his head slowly against the bulkhead, he found the pull and stretch of his skin against the cool metal relaxing and he allowed himself to sink further into his thoughts.

Though what if Carter still wanted him? What if they could be together? Would they make it work? He was technically still her superior, and just as always, the regs were still against them. But on this ship, if they were stuck for much longer, would ranks still make a difference?

Funny how such a horrible situation could open some very interesting routes for him and Sam. Now all he had to do was see if he was actually brave enough to follow through on pursuing them… God, he could be such a chicken when it came to Sam. Always had been.

Pushing off from the wall, Jack rubbed the bridge of his nose as he continued once more down the corridor. He still had that damned headache and that noise wasn't helping the matter.

Jack stopped.

Raising his eyes, he looked around the hallway. He was hearing something that sounded oddly like tires screeching… But where was it coming from?

Pinpointing the direction of the sound, he headed back the way he had come till he came to an intersection. The sound had stopped by this time, giving him no clues as which way to follow. One of the branches led to the conference room where he had argued with Daniel and the other lead to Sam's lab. He listened for a few moments till it started up again and knew immediately what direction to take.

As he came up on the door that led into Sam's lab, he knew he had been correct; the screeching sound was emanating from within and was quite loud at this point.

Years of training had taught him to enter into unknown situations with caution and honestly, this counted as one. Whatever was going on in the lab sounded like what one would hear if you dunked a cat in a tub of water.

Not that he knew anything about that…

Slowly, Jack leaned his head around the corner to peak into the partially opened door. He had no idea why the door had not slid shut all the way but it gave him ample coverage while he spied into the room.

He couldn't help the smile that spilt his face open. Sam just looked too… He searched for the right word for a second to describe her present state: cute.

She was hunched over a music stand, nose scrunched in that adorable fashion that Jack loved so much as she read the notes on the sheet in front of her. A bow was balanced in one hand as the other flipped several pages back and forth, while a massive cello rested between her thighs.

Yes, she looked cute, though he would never tell her that for fear of getting his ass kicked.

Watching her further as she studied the pages before her, Jack made himself comfortable against the door frame and made sure that he would not be seen if she happened to look up.

Sitting back, Sam lifted the bow and began to drag it across the strings, once more forcing the instrument to make those sounds that Jack was positive should never issue from anything, let alone a cello.

He couldn't help the grimace that appeared on his face as his ears were assaulted, and yet it didn't bother him because it was giving him a chance that he hadn't had in over three years: the ability to watch Sam in a completely unguarded moment.

When he had been made General and was no longer going off-world with SG-1, he had often thought of all the things he was missing when sitting behind that desk; all the things that he would never be able to experience again. But the one thing he had thought about the most, the one thing he missed more than anything had been those moments when he had watched his 2IC off-world when she had thought no one was looking. Three years later and still a General, this time was no exception.

She was bared to him. Nothing in the way of him seeing her for who she was: just Sam.

Jack watched her until she finally gave up and with a defeated sigh, put the cello back on its stand and packed away the sheets and music stand. Knowing now that she was no longer distracted and would probably find him spying on her, Jack moved away from the door with an idea formulating in his mind in how to help her with her new hobby.

* * *

- - Love it or hate it, leave a comment!


	10. A Contest and an Admission

- - Hey guys, here is the new chapter! It's a bit cracky but it's the last truely happy chapter for awhile. Hope you guys enjoy!

**NeverEnding 10/?  
****Title:** A Contest and an Admission  
**Author:** Chozen Rogue  
**Rating:** Teen; language, sexuality, eventual character death  
**Characters:** Jack/Sam; Team; Landry; Thor  
**Summary:** What if Jack was on the Odyssey during the events of "Unending?"  
**Spoilers:** **Unending (Duh!); 2x18: The Light**  
**Disclaimer:** Stargate: SG-1 belongs to MGM, Double Secret Productions, and Gekko Films. I just took the characters out for a spin.

* * *

**TEN WEEKS AFTER THE ORI ATTACK**

"Jack, pull it out!"

Cam stopped jogging in mid-stride.

"I can't, Vala. If I do it too fast, it could get stuck or I'd lose it and have to go back in!"

Eyes widening, Cam back-peddled to the open entrance of the galley and leaned forward to see exactly what was happening between his friends. Just as he was about to peak around the corner, a sickening 'pop' resounded from the room followed by the sound of Vala hissing.

"Ow! You got it in my eye!" Cam felt his jaw drop as several images and positions filled his mind, though he was spurred into action by the next thing he heard. "And it burns—ow—get that thing away from me!"

"Vala, just let me – "

"General, get off of her now or I will… Oh…"

Having literally jumped into the room to help Vala from the attentions of one Jack O'Neill, it came as a surprise to Cam when he found the General with one hand tilting Vala's grimacing face towards the light as he held a dill pickle in the other. Not to mention the fact that Vala was also holding a pickle jar clasped between their bodies as she tried to push O'Neill away with it.

Feeling the heat creep up into his cheeks, Mitchell shook his head and shrugged, "Uh sorry, I thought something else was going on."

Jack arched an eyebrow and released Vala's chin, finally letting her push him away and the obviously offending pickle he held. "And what exactly would that be, Colonel?"

"You wouldn't want to know, sir."

Vala, still blinking furiously, traded a look with Jack and then turned to Cam. "Um, ok."

There was a slightly awkward moment till Cam motioned to the bar between him and the other two. "So, what are you guys doing?"

Vala picked up a slice of bread and held it up for Mitchell to see. "Making sandwiches."

"Technically, it's a contest."

Looking up in bafflement at the general, Cam asked, "For what?"

"To see who can make the nastiest sandwich that still proves to be edible."

From the look on the general's face, Cam might have thought he was talking about the Olympic Finals. "Did you just start?"

The table was littered with what looked like every known condiment: cheese, vegetables, fruits, grains, and meat… Actually, it looked like they had raided the food stores and taken a good portion of everything.

And knowing Vala and Jack, it was possible.

"Why, yes we did! Would you like to join us, Mitchell?"

Cam stared at the man in front of him for a moment before shrugging. "Sure."

What could go wrong?

*****

Sam was on her way to the galley when she saw Teal'c exiting the elevator in front of her. "Hey Teal'c, hold on!"

He stopped and turned to look at her. "Colonel Carter, are you on your way to lunch as well?"

Finally reaching his position, she looked up at him and winced when she found a slightly swollen cut under his left eye. As she looked him over, Sam asked, "What happened? Are you okay?"

"Yes, I am fine. This morning's training secession was quite intense." He held out a hand to gesture for them to continue their way. "Colonel Mitchell is fast becoming adept to the fighting techniques of the Jaffa. He is a fine warrior."

"How did he do?"

"Very well," he said and then gestured towards his eye, "though I will endeavor to not let this happen again."

Sam shook her head to hide her smile. Boys will be boys, no matter the race. "Well, just be careful."

Teal'c nodded in concession and then cocked an eyebrow as they neared the open door of the galley, where the sounds of raucous yelling and laughing could be heard, not to mention the classic rock echoing from the room.

Sam shrugged at Teal'c's enquiring glance. When they reached doorway, they stopped and stared at the scene before them.

Daniel and Landry were sitting at the bar, both red in the face from laughing, and Vala was almost falling over in her mirth as tears rolled down her face. Suddenly, Jack's head popped up from behind the bar, pulling himself up as he tried to rein in his laughter and pointed to something next to him. Both Teal'c and Sam craned their necks to see what was so funny that was happening behind the bar and saw Cam hugging a trashcan, obviously using it to empty his stomach contents.

"Cam, what the hell happened?" Both Sam and Teal'c rushed into the room, causing all of the occupants to look up at them and Mitchell to raise his hand and groan.

At Sam's question, General Landry straightened himself and tried to wipe the grin off his face. "Colonel, Teal'c, come in and join the fun."

"Yeah, and don't worry about Mitchell." Jack patted the man on the back as he grinned, "He'll be fine!"

Not caring about their attempts to relieve their concerns, both Teal'c and Sam pushed past Vala and Jack's still-laughing forms and rushed to the now glaring Lieutenant Colonel. Before either of them could say anything, Mitchell pointed to O'Neill. "Permission to speak freely, sir."

"Granted."

"You're an asshole."

Sam and Teal'c stared at Cam as he hauled himself onto one of the bar stools, both hearing the howling laughter issuing from their four other companions behind them.

Losing all patience, Sam turned to the four and asked, "What the hell is going on?"

"I must ask the same thing, O'Neill."

Landry sitting up straight, grin still plastered on his face, answered for the three who were still in the midst of their laughter. "We're having a contest and Mitchell just lost to Jack—spectacularly I might add!"

"A contest?" Teal'c looked to Carter, who shrugged in answer.

"Yeah, a contest." Daniel took a long drink from a bottle of water that was in front of him before continuing. "Vala and Jack noticed that we have food products that were about to expire and decided to have a contest on who could eat the most disgusting sandwich." He shrugged at the blank expressions on Sam and Teal'c's face. "It's Jack and Vala…"

Sam nodded slowly as if that explained everything… Well actually, it did.

"So, Cam just lost?"

Both she and Daniel turned their attentions back to where Jack, Cam, and Vala were clearing away the half eaten sandwiches and making the area clean for what looked like the next round of the contest. "Yep, and Jack has beat almost everyone except Vala. But then again, the sandwich he ate was more awful than hers."

Teal'c took a seat on the stool next to Daniel and asked, "What was in the sandwich?"

"Some concoction with ketchup, butter, bananas, and some other things that I can't and don't want to recall."

Shocked at Landry's answer, and even a bit terrified at the churning in her stomach at the thought of having to eat that particular sandwich, Sam asked, "Did he eat it?!"

Both Landry and Daniel shook their heads, as the general answered her question. "No, he took one bite and then spit it out."

Sam smiled at the image that came into her mind as she changed her focus back to the trio who were lining up a new row of ingredients, all in little bowls or in open jars awaiting their usage. She watched as Cam laughed as Jack tried to hand feed Vala something that looked like tuna. She had grabbed his wrist and was trying to force it away from her and back towards his mouth with the help of Cameron, who had joined in.

The comical scene before them had Daniel and Laundry urging on Cam and Vala, while Teal'c gallantly tried to coach Jack as he tried to back away from the pair that was trying to stuff the tuna down his mouth.

O'Neill's back hit the counter behind him causing Vala and Cameron to overpower him, though albeit the tuna ended up more on Jack's face than in his mouth. Sputtering, Jack looked at the now silenced six that were staring at him.

"Oh, you better run." They all had about three seconds to fully comprehend the evil smile that widened over the face of Jack O'Neill as he lunged to the grab a handful of mustard and threw it back at the two who had attacked him.

There was a moment's pause before all six humans, sans one Jaffa, grabbed a handful of the food or condiment nearest to them and started throwing it at one another, with Teal'c almost scrambling out of the line of fire.

Within seconds they were all covered in the food that was being flung across the galley. Sam finally took cover behind the bar with Vala, both women giggling as they could hear the boys yelling at each other. Teal'c had now joined the fight, hell-bent on having Jack pay for the mayo bomb that he had hit the Jaffa's cheek with.

And as lettuce leaves came fluttering over the bar's counter, Carter was struck with the thought of how this would appear if someone walked in on them right now.

Two Air Force Generals, along with two Lieutenant-Colonels, an archaeologist, a former Goa'uld queen, and one Jaffa, were in the midst of huge food fight. All of them were acting as if they were ten years old again, splitting into teams and blind-siding their enemies with bombs made from mango-chutney.

The war died down as quickly as it had started once all of their supplies were used and had thoroughly covered every surface and being in the room. As the seven slowly came out from their hiding places, Vala and Sam tried to get their hair in order, making it worse in the process, and the boys tried to straighten their clothing… Except for Jack, who caused almost everyone to burst into laughter as he started to lick his fingers clean; Teal'c just smiled at the display.

Looking up in surprise, Jack asked, "What?"

His reaction only fueled their reaction and as Sam held her stomach as she and Vala leaned on each other for support. She couldn't help but think that if they never left the Odyssey, they would still be okay.

*****

Finally, after taking a shower, Sam felt human again.

She had cleaned more mayo and ketchup from places that neither should have been in the first place than she wanted to admit. And it had been made worse because it had taken them over an hour to get the galley in working order which had meant that everything had been caked onto her skin. She had even considered cutting off all of her hair after her second shower.

She was on her way towards her lab in hopes of getting an hour of practice on the cello before hitting the sack. It had been nice to have taken basically the entire day off from working on calculations on how to get them home or on repairs, but it had still been a long day.

She rounded the open doorway to her lab and stopped at the sight of her cello and music stand missing. A moment of panic swept through her till she saw a note on the top of her console. Picking it up, she immediately recognized the handwriting to be Jack's.

_Carter,  
__Sorry for stealing your beloved cello, but I figured if I was going to get your attention, it was the best way. Meet me on the observation deck at 2100, and you will get your cello back, unharmed.  
__Your friendly neighborhood robber,  
__O'Neill_

Glancing at her watch, Sam saw that she had seven minutes to reach the observation deck. As she took off, she didn't even try to control the butterflies that were now in her stomach.

*****

She was in trouble.

No other way of looking at it. She was definitely screwed.

She knew she should leave but dammit… He was sexy.

Sam's eyes widened as the thought crossed her mind. Sure, she had fantasized about her commanding officer more times than she would ever admit… But this was dangerous territory.

There he sat on one of tables in the room, a chair supporting his feet, dressed in blue jeans, and one of the regulation black long-sleeve shirts. And that wasn't even that bad part.

No, that would be the fact that he sat there humming a soft melody as he plucked the strings of the acoustic guitar that rested atop of his right thigh.

Oh God, she was going to a special hell for the thoughts cascading through her mind.

Biting her lip, she finally let her presence be known by rapping her knuckles against the door frame. "Uh, hi."

He lifted his eyes to meet hers and let an almost shy grin cross his face. "Whelp, now you know." He tapped the body of the guitar.

Smiling as she sat down in the seat next to him, Sam whispered, "Your secret is safe with me."

He stood up with a slight snort and leaned the guitar against the edge of the table before saddling the chair he been using as a foot stool. "So Carter, obviously you got my letter?"

"Yes sir, I did, but where is my—" He cut her off as he pointed behind her and when she turned, Sam saw her cello in its stand in the far corner of the room with its music stand beside it. Safe and sound.

"Glad to see it's still in working order."

Clasping his chest in a dramatic gesture, he declared, "Oh Carter, you wound me with you lack of trust."

Smiling back at him, she said, "I trust you, sir, I just don't trust you with easily breakable things."

"Touché."

"So, why the big ruse? Why'd you bring me down here, sir?"

He frowned slightly at the word 'sir' but it passed so quickly across his face, Sam wasn't sure if she had really seen it or not. "Well, for one, look at the view."

Sam turned to stare out of the huge glass window that wrapped around the room, making it seem that they were in the void of space with the stars all around them. It really was beautiful. Turning back to Jack, she caught him still staring at her, though he quickly averted his eyes and cleared his throat.

The display made the air around them suddenly turn awkward as they both fidgeted in their chairs for a moment. Then, abruptly, he blurted out, "I wanted to help you."

Sam eyed him for a second as it suddenly occurred to her that he was nervous… Jack O'Neill was nervous. Wonders would never cease.

"Help with what, sir?"

"You seem to be having trouble learning the cello, which is understandable since you're learning it on your own, but maybe it would be easier if you had someone to play with." He still wasn't looking at her.

"So you're giving up your time to help teach me the cello? Until five minutes ago, I didn't even know you played the guitar." He continued to not even meet her eyes, and she heard frustration creep into her voice.

He ran a hand through his hair with a weary expression on his face. "I haven't really played since Charlie…" She heard him swallow harshly. "Have been building up the calluses on my fingers again since I heard you struggling."

She felt the tension bleed out of her as he held up his hands for her to expect. The pads of his fingers were slightly swollen and pink. As he started to pull them back, she took one of his hands in her hands and ran her fingertips over the swollen digits. "Do they hurt?"

He snorted softly as she started to inspect more of his hand, fingers ghosting over old scars that told of years in the field. "Not as much as they did last week; I almost made them bleed at one point."

"I remember the band-aids."

Moments passed as she studied his hand, until finally she lifted her eyes to his face. She was surprised to find his dark eyes already on her, and frowned slightly as she registered the fact that his face seemed paler. "Are you okay, sir?"

He shrugged his shoulders in answer. "Yeah, just those crazy sandwiches from earlier coming back to bite me in the ass."

She nodded slowly, a weary grin crossing her face as she once again turned her attention back to their still entwined hands. She remembered passing Daniel and Vala on the way to her lab earlier, and he had told her that Jack had spent almost 30 minutes in the bathroom vomiting. "Daniel told me you were sick."

"Again Carter, it was the food! Nothing to worry about, though honestly that food fight was worth it."

Even though worry still made her stomach churn, she couldn't help but laugh at the memory of their little food war. "No question about that, sir."

Suddenly, the hand that held hers flew away to run over his face as he grumbled, "For cryin' out loud!"

Sam was alarmed at his sudden withdrawal. "What?!"

He leaned back as far as he could without tipping the chair and studied her for a moment. "How long?"

Her nose scrunched in confusion. "How long what?"

"How long till this," he motioned at the space between them, "breaks?"

She felt herself blink stupidly at him as what he was referring to slowly dawned on her. Her eyes widened under his stare and she felt her cheeks grow warm. Okay, if he wanted to lay all of his cards down, she'd call.

"I recall a similar situation in which you told me specifically that the chain of the command had to stay in place no matter how long we were there."

"But that was a planet and there was every reason to believe that we would find a way home, even if we had to drag that light back with us." He finally leaned forward, his voice dropping to almost a whisper. "Don't lie to me Carter; I know that there is a very real chance that we could be stuck here for the rest of our lives. I'm not as stupid as everyone thinks I am."

At these words, she felt anger rise within her and opened her mouth to defend herself, but stopped at his raised hand. "Don't. I'm not accusing you. I just want you to know that if we stay here much longer…"

He trailed off, his eyes drifting down to the gray floor beneath them. She held her breath until he raised them and finished his thought. "This," he again motioned to them both, "it won't stay professional."

A moment passed as she studied him. Everything that they had never been able to say or show, the pain of having to hide it all… it was all reflected in his eyes. No, he was right. The longer they stayed here, the more that 'sir' would become 'Jack' and 'Carter' would become 'Sam.'

There was no way of stopping it.

Her voice sound stronger than she thought it would when she finally said, "I'm okay with that."

* * *

- - So, love it or hate it? Either way, comments are food to a starving muse!  
Oh and, a BIG shout out to everyone who has gone out of their way to review: you guys are AMAZING!


	11. Tears, Kisses, and Blood

**A/N:** **So... What to say about this chapter. Not my favorite and some of you will have some problems with how much Daniel/Vala are in this but it's in the episode and so it must be written. Hope you guys like it regardless!**

**NeverEnding 11/?  
****Title:** Tears, Kisses, and Blood  
**Author:** Chozen Rogue  
**Rating:** Teen; language, sexuality, eventual character death  
**Characters:** Jack/Sam; Team; Landry; Thor  
**Summary:** What if Jack was indeed on the Odyssey during the events of "Unending?"  
**Spoilers:** **Unending (Duh!); whole series, will specify if anything major comes up  
Disclaimer:** Stargate: SG-1 belongs to MGM, Double Secret Productions, and Gekko Films. I just took the characters out for a spin.

* * *

**TWELVE WEEKS AFTER THE ORI ATTACK**

Daniel was on his way back to his quarters when Vala suddenly bounded up to him. "Hey, Daniel."

"Vala, what can I do for you today?"

She took his arm as they continued down the hall all the while ignoring the tension radiating from her companion. "I'm deliriously bored and can't find Jack."

Daniel smiled. He knew for a fact that his missing friend was in fact with Sam, and that he was currently helping her clear out one of the previously breached sections of the ship for scrap materials. "I think he's with Sam."

"Oh, I know he is but I still can't find him, and even if I did, I really don't think they would appreciate me barging in."

He pulled away from Vala with a surprised expression on his face. "Wait, you actually care? Vala, you never care if you're wanted in a room or not."

She smiled and took his arm, pulling him in the direction of his quarters once again. "Well, that's because you always want me in the room." Daniel rolled his eyes as he waited for her to continue as he knew she would. "So what were you doing?"

She pointed to the clip board that held his notes from his session in the Projection Room. "I was going through the Asgard database, researching their history."

"Anything interesting?"

"Um, yeah, actually I found a section on their cloning techniques. It basically outlined all of their previous models in chronological order. It's truly fascinating." He shot her a suspicious look. "Why are you so interested anyways? This stuff usually bores you."

She shrugged into his side. "I don't know. Everyone has someone or something to do, and I don't." She gave him a pointed look. "I told you I was bored."

At her confession, he felt his suspicions slowly melt away. "Well, I about to go over my notes but if you want, you can spend time with me."

One of her blinding smiles lit up her face as she said, "As long as I can play music and games on you computer, I'm good."

He shook his head in amusement; she was just as bad as Jack.

*****

It was sometime later that Daniel threw his pen across his desk and growled in frustration as he pinched the bridge of his nose beneath his glasses. He turned to Vala, who had just shut off the music she had been playing and was in the process of closing his laptop. As she moved to sit on the edge of his bed, she asked, "What?"

Frowning at her question, he stood up and starting pacing. "I'm going over the notes I made on the Asgard's cloning... All they wanted to do was live a little longer."

"We're no different. Sequencing DNA, curing diseases," he paused for a second, his facing scrunching in frustration, "and one fatal mistake and they doom their entire race." He stopped pacing and took a deep breath, "I guess no matter what you do at the end of the day, life is too short."

She was staring at him, her face reflecting something that he couldn't quite place. "I agree."

He nodded and then turned around. Daniel ran his hand over one of the leather bound journals lining his shelf before he leant against it and took off his glasses to rub his eyes with the back of his hand. Hearing the rustling of fabric behind him, he replaced his glasses as he turned to face Vala just in time to see her pull her shirt over her head, leaving her clad in a form fitting camisole that did nothing to hide her figure.

He swallowed roughly before he asked, "What are you doing?"

As she stepped towards him, she answered, "Something we should have done a long time ago." When she reached him, her hands flew to his belt buckle and started to undo it.

His own hands landed on top of hers but didn't make any move to stop her. "Don't do that."

A small seductive smile crossed Vala's face as she asked playfully, "Why not?" His hands moved from hers to her wrists where they forced them away from his belt. He glared at her for a moment before pushing her away from him in frustration.

He turned his back to her as she opened her mouth to speak. "We've been here three months, Daniel." He tried to block her voice from his hearing as he started to redo his belt. "Three months." He still wasn't listening. "You do like girls?"

Dammit.

He turned back towards her; so much for not listening. "Yes."

"Oh… Well, I don't see many other options around here, do you?" She smiled awkwardly and then waved her hand. "Unless you're thinking about Sam, and in that case, I don't think you have a chance."

"Vala, just stop! I have never been nor will ever be interested in Sam, not to mention what Jack would do to me if I were!" Rubbing at his face, he faced the shelf again and folded his arms on top of it to rest his head.

"Unless…" He lifted his head to glance at her, her voice so low he wasn't sure he heard her at first. "You really don't find me attractive."

A sense of disbelief washed over him as he looked at her completely open expression of pain. Could she honestly believe that he didn't find her attractive?

"Do you want an honest answer to that question?"

"No."

He cocked his head in confusion as he heard her voice break in that one word answer and watched as she grabbed her shirt. She turned away from him as she fumbled with the opening of the shirt. "No seriously, you started this." He stepped closer to her. "Do you want an honest answer to the question?"

"No, don't worry about it."

She was still fumbling with her shirt and though he knew he should stop, he could feel the anger and frustration of the situation rise within him. "Do you believe I could have any kind of serious feelings for you?"

She stopped suddenly and whirled to face him with an almost fearful expression on her face. "I wasn't suggesting that you have serious feelings, Daniel – "

He didn't let her finish as he finally let loose what he had been dying to say to her since she had first shown up at the SGC two years ago. "Oh! Oh! Oh what? So what? We sleep together once. Then what?"

He paused for a second before gesturing violently between them causing her eyes to widen in what looked like fear. "We work together! And you know, even saying that part out loud sounds unbelievable. I mean," he let out a snort of deranged laughter, "come on, I mean I can't imagine what a relationship with you would be like!"

Vala had turned away from him once more and had moved to sit on the bed. "I mean, yes. Yes, you've proven yourself to be trustworthy on a professional level and for that I am very proud of you," even though she couldn't see the gesture, he clasped his hands together to drive the point home, "but on a personal level…" He stared at her back for a second before tearing his hands apart in frustration. "Vala, come on, give me a break!"

"I mean at best you're an emotional, unstable wreck." Daniel moved away from her as the next bit of information dawned on him. "But hey, I'm not saying I'm much better."

He frowned. "I'm not saying I'm much better. There was a time when I thought I would," he stumbled over his words, the pain of Sha're's death resurfacing, "I would never get over my wife." He paused, his eyes closing under the pressure of the anger and pain coursing through him. "I mean the idea of being hurt that way again…"

"But I have finally gotten to the place." He turned away from Vala and gestured towards the heavens, desperation creeping into his voice as he continued. "I finally, for the first time, in a long time, have gotten to the place where I actually feel that I could get close to somebody again."

He turned back to her and gestured violently towards Vala, whose back was still facing him. "But not in a million years, a million-million years, would I ever possibly consider that person being you."

"I mean, we are so completely opposite and wrong for each other, it's not even funny." His mind was suddenly filled with images of Sam and Jack, though he subdued them as soon as they popped up. He would not get distracted, not when he about to get to the heart of the situation.

"And the worst part! The worst part about it is, is that you know that! And this whole flirty," he mimed puffing up his chest and playing with imaginary breasts as he continued, "sexual thing that you do, that's just your way of having a laugh at my expense."

"So, I'm so sorry if I'm not more appreciative of that and I'm so sorry that you're bored!" He pointed savagely at her. "But don't you pretend that it's anything else."

And as quickly as the anger had risen in him it deflated quite suddenly when he heard Vala take in a shuddering breath. Daniel watched as her hand came up and wiped at a tear he couldn't see.

"Don't act like you're hurt…"

Pretending like she didn't hear him, Vala finally brought her top over her head. As she pulled it down and into place over her torso, Daniel felt the heavy weight of guilt settle over him. What the hell had that explosion been about? Sure she drove him crazy and was about as different in personality from Sha're as you could get but she didn't deserve any of what he had said.

He crossed over to the bed and sat down to face her, only to have Vala turn her back to him. Reaching out to put a hand on her back, he said, "Hey– " He was cut off as she pulled away from him and he was surprised at how much the action hurt him.

"Just give me a minute," she whispered as her hands came up to cover her face.

"Look at me." She shook her head as he gently pulled her hair away from where it shielded her face hoping to persuade her to look at him; shakily, she wiped her eyes before finally turning towards him.

As their eyes met, Daniel felt as though he couldn't breathe, the pain on her face was so palpable he could feel it. Looking away, she closed her eyes, causing Daniel to bring his hand up to urge her to meet his eyes again. They stared at each other for a moment, his thumb caressing the soft, wet skin of her cheek and then leaned in to touch his lips to hers.

He was kissing Vala… Of his own volition and it felt incredible, and even more so when she brought her hand up to the side of his neck.

It ended all too soon as they pulled apart, both searching one another's eyes to gauge their reactions.

He felt a smile spread across his face as he saw the wonder, and even love, shining in her eyes.

"You better not be messing with me," he whispered before once more leaning into her, though his attempt was stopped by her hand sharply connecting with his cheek.

He stared at her in shock as she said, "That's for how you just treated me and I swear, Daniel, if you don't mean this..."

He cut her off with a single finger against her mouth. "I was an ass just now and I don't expect you to forgive me but let's just say, a moment of clarity happened."

She snorted as she wiped her eyes once more and lightly hit him on the shoulder. "That was some moment of clarity."

Daniel smiled as he leant into her again. "Sure was…" His voice trailed off as their lips met once more.

*****

Cameron was in the middle of his morning jog, accompanied by General O'Neill, when the doors to Daniel's quarters opened as he neared them. Readying himself to call out a morning greeting, he was completely caught off guard as he ran past the sight of a half-dressed Vala pulling on her shirt as she exited the room.

As the image caught up with his brain, Cam came to a dead stop before turning just in time to see Vala wave a very lazy goodbye to the unseen, but known, occupant of the quarters. And behind her, a few feet down the corridor, stood a very slack-jawed O'Neill.

Vala turned to Cam and smiled a very sated smile before turning to head down the hallway towards Jack. When she passed him, she reached up to plant a light kiss upon his cheek before once again starting down the corridor.

At her kiss, Jack's expression changed from shock to a grin that could rival any mischievous little boy's giving Cam less than a second to register what was going through the General's mind as Jack made a dash for the closing doors to Daniel's quarters. The younger man lunged for him right before Jack stuck his hand out to stop the door from closing and pulled him towards his own body.

"Don't even think about it," he breathed into the older man's ear.

Jack looked at him with an expression of a boy who had just had just been told to wait to open his Christmas presents: absolutely heart-broken. "You're crazy; I have to talk to him!"

Shaking his head in amusement, Cam turned Jack around and slung his arm around the man's shoulders to guide him away form Daniel's room. "C'mon General, lets give him a while to rest up before you go in there."

"Spoil sport."

*****

Jack was sitting at the desk in Landry's quarters with a wet towel thrown across his face and ice pack settled over his knees. Shaking his head at the scene before him, Landry smiled. "Why do you do this to yourself?"

A grunt issued from the man in front of him and he saw the towel move as Jack began to talk. "Well Hank, I don't think I quite ready to admit that I'm an old fart." Landry snorted as he pruned the small plant that was placed on the desk between Jack and him. "Unlike you though."

He looked up to find Jack watching him with an arched eyebrow, the forgotten towel having slid to the man's chest, as he fussed over his new found hobby. Smiling, Hank pointed to the sitting man with his small scissors and said, "But you _are_ an old fart."

A grin spilt the slightly younger man's face as he patted the slight belly he had acquired since taking that desk job in Washington. "There is a difference between knowing and admitting and I've still got some years left in me."

Landry laughed as Jack lifted the towel back onto his face. "So, Jack…" He heard a grunt from his friend and continued, "What are you and my Lieutenant Colonel sneaking off to do every other day?"

"I wouldn't exactly call exercising with Mitchell and Teal'c as 'sneaking off'," came the muffled response.

"I wasn't talking about _that_ Lieutenant Colonel."

There was a pause and then Jack said, "Drop that thought General, I'm just helping her to learn the cello."

Landry couldn't help the look that crossed over his face and was grateful that Jack couldn't see him. Jack was one of his best friends and for the man to think he had been blind to what had been brewing between Sam and Jack for years was insane.

'_Learning to play the cello my ass, Jack; more like flirting till un-Godly hours of the night._'

He was about to muse further on the subject of his friend and one of his subordinates becoming more than just co-workers, regardless of rank, when he heard someone shuffle into the room behind him.

"General?"

Landry turned to see Mitchell walk into the room; shoulders slumped under an invisible weight. He watched as the younger man surveyed the room. "Or should I say, Generals… We need to take our chances with the F-302's."

Seeing Jack raise his head to comment on Mitchell's suggestion, Landry quickly tried to change the topic in order to diffuse the situation that he knew was about to arise. "What I need is a sunlamp." He shook his head as he finally moved on to another plant. "This matter-converted oxygen just isn't the same."

"Oh, why is the grand irony of this lost on everyone but me?!"

_"It's not."_ Both he and Jack traded glances as they had spoken in unison, even though Jack continued.

"Mitchell, you heard what Carter told us at the beginning. Even with the 302's we wouldn't be able to escape the blast wave once we passed the dilation field. It's a suicide mission!"

"Sirs, at this point, we know it's the damn Asgard upgrade that allows the Ori to track us. So even if we manage to save the ship, we won't be able to use the technology because the Ori will come down on us like a bag of hammers!"

Moving over to another plant, Landry listened as Cameron's voice rose in frustration and calmly responded, "For now."

Jack, on the other hand, was not so calm with the younger man. "Normally, I would be with you on this and say take the damn ships and get the hell out of Dodge, but this isn't a normal situation!" Landry had stopped tending to his plants at the sound of Jack's voice and watched as the man pushed himself out of the chair and walked over to where Mitchell was standing.

Cameron brought his eyes up to meet with Jack's. "Oh come on, sir, it's like a bad joke. We have stranded ourselves here trying to save something we can't use."

"That's true, but this way, we live."

Cam's eyes dropped to the deck plating as Jack walked back over to the chair he had been previously occupying. Watching the two men, Landry noticed that the tension in the room had finally dissipated somewhat and walked over to Mitchell.

"We're not having this conversation again."

Mitchell threw him an angry look before snapping himself to attention and then exiting the room.

Still facing the doorway, Landry heard Jack lean forward to rest his elbows on the desk. "Hank, lemme ask you something." He turned to face his friend, who was looking at him inquisitively. "Was I ever that bad with authority?"

Hank blinked comically in disbelief for a moment before a teasing smile crossed Jack's face. Laughing slightly, he answered, "You were worse and you know it!"

*****

**FIFTEEN WEEKS AFTER THE ORI ATTACK**

Jack tried not to notice the pounding in his head as he swung his head back to dry swallow the two Tylenol that he held. Fighting back the automatic gagging response, he quickly wet his hands from the running water from his faucet and brought it up to his mouth before using the rest to splash on to his burning skin.

He continued to wet his face with the cold water until his shirt had been thoroughly soaked and the hotness of his skin seemed to have cooled. Slowly, he raised his head and braced himself against the counter as he held the back of his hand to his mouth, taking measured breaths that seemed to be in time with the pounding in his head.

Hopefully, his headache would be gone before the meeting that was scheduled for all of them at 1100 hours. Rolling his head on his shoulders to stretch the muscles in his neck, he once again ran his hand over his face and then reached for a towel to dry off.

Glancing down at his hand, Jack saw a dark pink smear on the back of his hand. Blinking slowly, he turned his hand over and saw the same smear on his palm that was running down his arm in pink droplets. He raised his eyes to the mirror and was surprised to see that his nose was bleeding. The water on his skin had made it worse as it was already turning his light grey shirt to a rust color along the collar.

He grabbed the towel he had originally been reaching for and bunched it up under his nose while he cleaned himself off in the sink. After washing off all the blood, he carefully stripped his shirt off and then climbed into his bed. Once settled, he leaned his head back to help stem the flow of blood still issuing from his nose all the while hoping that he would fall asleep soon.

Damn spaceships and their recycled air.

* * *

- So love or hate it; leave a comment to tell me how I'm doing and what you think!  
BTW, there will be a whole lot of Sam/Jack in the next chapter, I promise.


	12. What Happens After Dinner?

******A/N: After long battles with my muse over the fact that this chapter was severely OOC in some parts, it was rewritten twice and now it is ready!  
Oh, and it is the longest chapter yet... ENJOY!**

**Title:** What Happens After Dinner?  
**Author:** Chozen Rogue  
**Rating:** Teen; language, sexuality, eventual character death  
**Characters:** Jack/Sam; Team; Landry; Thor  
**Summary:** What if Jack was indeed on the Odyssey during the events of "Unending?"  
**Spoilers:** Unending (Duh!); whole series  
**Disclaimer:** Stargate: SG-1 belongs to MGM, Double Secret Productions, and Gekko Films. I just took the characters out for a spin.

* * *

**FIFTEEN WEEKS AFTER THE ORI ATTACK **

_Jack tried not to notice the pounding in his head as he swung his head back to dry swallow the two Tylenol that he held. Fighting back the automatic gagging response, he quickly wet his hands from the running water from his faucet and brought it up to his mouth before using the rest to splash on to his burning skin. _

_He continued to wet his face with the cold water until his shirt had been thoroughly soaked and the hotness of his skin seemed to have cooled. Slowly, he raised his head and braced himself against the counter as he held the back of his hand to his mouth, taking measured breaths that seemed to be in time with the pounding in his head. _

_Hopefully, his headache would be gone before the meeting that was scheduled for all of them at 1100 hours. Rolling his head on his shoulders to stretch the muscles in his neck, he once again ran his hand over his face and then reached for the towel rack to dry off._

_Glancing down at his hand, Jack saw a dark pink smear on the back of his hand. Blinking slowly, he turned his hand over and saw the same smear on his palm and it seemed to be running down his arm in pink droplets. He raised his eyes to the mirror and was surprised to see that his nose was bleeding. The water on his skin only made it worse. His light grey shirt had turned a rust color along the collar._

_He grabbed the towel he had originally been grabbing from the wall and bunched it up under his nose while he cleaned himself off with toilet paper. After washing off all the blood, he carefully stripped his shirt off and then climbed into his bed. Once settled, he leaned his head back to help stem the flow of blood still issuing from his nose._

_Damn spaceships and their recycled air._

*****

**TWO DAYS LATER**

"I don't think I've asked you yet, but what do you think about Daniel and Vala?"

Jack paused in the shaving of his cheek as his eyes met Sam's in the mirror. "You're kidding, right?"

A grin crossed her face as she continued flipping through Thor's book, which he had recently discovered was actually named _A History of Asgard Legends and the Truth behind Them_. Even now the title still brought a smile to his face, it sounded so damn human-like.

"And what are you smiling about?"

"At the fact that Danny-boy seems awfully tired now-a-days."

A small giggle issued from behind him, and he once again took his eyes off the blade that was now trailing down his neck to look at Carter's reflection. She glanced at him and her cheeks tinted as she said, "She does seem to wearing him out."

"Speak for yourself," he dipped the razor in the sink before bringing it back up to his neck, "you didn't catch them in the Projection Room."

He watched as she shuddered violently, "And I hope to never do!"

A comfortable silence descended as she continued her reading and he his shaving. It was moments like these with Sam that Jack looked forward to the most, he thought as the razor slid through the last patch of cream on his neck. He also loved that they had been growing in number in the past few weeks since they had finally agreed to let their relationship progress naturally.

She had come to his quarters an hour ago as a wake-up call that he hadn't needed but had appreciated. She had even brought him an orange and a thermos of coffee for breakfast, which he quickly devoured as she finished her own yogurt.

From there, the morning had steadily grown more domestic as he had finally scratched the underside of his chin and she had arched an eyebrow at the noise his two-day-old beard had made. Though her breaking point with his disheveled appearance came when he had run his hand through his hair and she had noticed how long it had gotten.

"How long since you cut it?"

Jack shrugged and answered, "Maybe a week or two after the attack… It has gotten a bit long, hasn't it?"

She smile at him and nodded. "Yes, it has." A moment passed before she continued, shyly, "May I cut it?"

He had stared stupidly at her until finally, he had answered yes.

Minutes later, he had been sitting in the cramped bathroom on the toilet sans shirt and she had gone about trimming his hair with the small electric shaver he always carried with him on travels. Once she had finished, they had gone about cleaning up the hair that had strewn the floor and then he had shooed her out of the bathroom before taking quick shower to rid him of the remaining hair that still clung to his body.

That had been twenty minutes ago, and now she was sitting on top of his toilet lid wearing a pair of sweats and a tank top; her hair, which had grown since the attacks, was pulled back messily, and she flipping though the book. He, on the other hand, was now in the process of shaving and still shirtless, clad only in a pair of BDU pants.

The domesticity of it all was painfully sweet. It was new and exhilarating because it was Carter but it was also scaring the hell out of him because it reminded him of him so much of the marriage he had botched.

Shaking himself out of the painful memories he had brought back, Jack quickly rinsed the razor and then his face. When he was sure all of the left over shaving cream was gone he reached for the towel beside him only to find it missing from where he had left it on the counter.

Looking up in surprise, he found Carter standing in the doorway holding the towel and the book, all the while giving him a look that made Jack suddenly very aware of how cramped the bathroom was. He smiled at her, hoping that she wouldn't be able to tell that the thoughts coursing through his mind weren't the most gentlemanly.

A coy smile crossed her face as she held out the towel for him, which he reached out to take which she held onto a bit longer than necessary until letting it go. "Uh, thanks."

Sam grinned before walking into the living area, and by the way her hips shook, she had been wise to where his thoughts had drifted… Damn minx.

His eyes quickly left her shapely behind as she turned around to sit down on his bed after replacing Thor's book on his nightstand. He continued to watch her as she started to pull on her sneakers. "You leaving?"

She nodded without looking up. "Yeah, I still have to get dressed." Once her shoes were tied, Sam's eyes met his and she asked, "I'm going to do some more scavenging in the lower decks with Teal'c later if you want to help?"

"I might," he answered as he finished drying his face off. If he was perfectly honest with himself, he hoped that she wouldn't change into another set of clothes… The image of a sweaty and dirty Carter in a tank top had a certain appeal to him.

"You okay?"

His mind focused back on the here and now causing him to shift his stance uncomfortably; he cleared his throat. "Yeah… Well then, thanks for cleaning me up, Carter." He ran a hand over his freshly cut hair. "I know I was getting pretty shaggy there."

"Anytime, sir." She threw him a smile and a small wave before she exited his quarters.

Staring at the door as it closed, Jack couldn't help the grin that threatened to split his face in two. He always liked it when Carter was in one of her playful moods. They were rare but man did he love them.

Turning to the sink once more, he threw the towel on the counter and grabbed his toothbrush. After putting the paste on it, he started brushing as his mind once more went over the events of the morning.

Taking the brush out of his mouth, he spat into the sink and recoiled slightly when he saw red swirl into the white frothy liquid. Looking up in surprise, he found a trail of blood leading from nose to his top lip, smearing itself across his lips. Sighing heavily, he rinsed his mouth and nose before going over to the toilet and grabbing a wad of tissue paper.

"A perfect end to a perfect morning," he mumbled sarcastically to himself.

*****

Landry was staring at the Ori missile through the forward window of the bridge when Jack found him. Walking over to the man, Jack leaned against the sill and asked, "So, based on Carter's evidence yesterday, how do you think we're doing?"

Hank gave a heavy sigh before turning to Jack. "It doesn't look good, that's for sure." Jack nodded and glanced once more at the missile before refocusing his attention on the other general. He was staring at him. "What?"

Landry blinked. "I'd forgotten what you looked liked cleaned-up, looks good on you."

"Yeah well, you can thank Carter. She helped get me to do it." There was no one in hell he was going to tell Landry the exact details of what happened this morning; he'd never hear the end of it, whether in teasing or in admonishment.

The other man smiled and then a dark cloud seemed to pass over his face causing Jack to raise an eyebrow in interest. "Even cleaned-up Jack, you still look like hell. What's up?"

He shrugged. "I think I'm just tired…" His eyes once more settled on the missile, which might have appeared beautiful to him if it didn't mean death. "Of everything. Human weren't made to live in a bubble."

He felt the man shift next to him before Landry said, "You might be right, but at this time, we might not have any choice."

After nodding in concession, Jack leant his forehead against the glass and sighed as the extreme cold hit his nerve endings, somewhat dulling the headache that had returned after his nosebleed.

A comforting hand landed on his shoulder. "The headache back?" At Jack's nod, Landry continued, "They've been growing more frequent Jack; you need to ask Sam or Daniel to check you out with the medical scanner before they get worse."

"Planning to…" At the sound of his voice trailing off, he felt Landry squeeze his shoulder. After a moment, Jack pushed himself off the window to face the other man. "But later, Carter needs help with some stuff and I offered my services."

"You're not going to be much help to her you can't stand straight."

"That's why I was going to ask if you wanted to help!"

Shaking his head, Landry said, "Sorry Jack, but you're going to have to get someone else to cover your ass. I'm in charge of dinner tonight, remember?"

Jack shrugged his shoulders good-naturally as he made his way off the bridge, pretending to not notice the way Landry was watching every one of his movements like a hawk. "Suit yourself. See you at dinner!"

*****

Sam sat staring at her hands as she folded the paper napkin she held into various shapes, her thoughts on the events of the morning. She hadn't really planned on staying in O'Neill's quarters as long as she did. It was suppose to be a nice little breakfast that they could both enjoy before what was sure to be very long day… Not the almost two and a half hour conversation that it had become.

She sighed. Jack hadn't been feeling well, she could tell by the way his face would pale occasionally or the slight falter in his step or stance. Little things that hinted at an underlying problem that she didn't want to admit that was there. She was even starting to wonder if she was the only who saw it since no one else had mention it, let alone him.

A snort escaped her, like he would ever willingly admit that he needed help. He was Jack O'Neill after all.

Regardless, this morning had been amazing. Every little touch, smile, or look that had been shared between them kept replaying in her mind—her own private movie. She still couldn't believe that he had let her give him a haircut and then had let her stay as he took a shower and later shaved.

Damn, was he beautiful after a shower…

She was in the middle of a particularly arousing memory of a certain water droplet that she had followed from his hairline and down his back to the hem of his towel, when a talking Vala suddenly appeared in her line of vision.

Snapping back to the here and now, Sam blinked, in what she was sure was in a stupid manner, and asked the other woman, "I'm sorry, what?"

Vala raised an eyebrow as Sam tried to fight back the blush she felt creep into her cheeks. "Oh—I said, I want to help you."

It took a moment for Vala's request to register, but once it did, Sam smiled.

*****

Daniel could hear the sounds of wood against wood mixed with the thwacks of wood hitting flesh as he neared the gym, already knowing who would be in the room. He happened to enter the room in time to see Teal'c sweep the bashaak under Cam's feet and winced when he saw the man hit the ground on his back, hard.

Both men turned to him as Teal'c reached down to give a helping hand to Mitchell. "Hello Daniel Jackson."

"Hey Teal'c, Cam."

Mitchell grunted his hello and waved a hand at him, apparently still trying to catch his breath. "You alright?"

"Yeah, but I won't know for sure until my lungs start working again." He threw a smile at Daniel. "I'm good."

Teal'c nodded and said, with pride in voice, "You are doing quite well Colonel Mitchell, that was the only time today that I was able to find and exploit one of your weaknesses."

"Aw thanks, Teal'c." Cam patted Teal'c on the shoulder before heading over to one of the benches that lined the wall of the room and sat down next to his stuff. He grabbed his water bottle and downed half of it before turning to Daniel and asking, "What's going on?"

Daniel shrugged. "I was in the projection room and found something that I wanted to cross-reference with Jack's book."

"I thought the book was about myths?"

"Well, myths are typically based on real circumstances, usually made-up to explain things a civilization couldn't." Sitting down next to Cam, Daniel continued, "Regardless, I remember some kind of reference in the book but I can't remember the whole thing."

Mitchell nodded. "Cool…" his attention turned to Teal'c who was in the process of putting away the sparring weapons. "You need help, T?"

The Jaffa shook his head as closed the door to the locker that held some training equipment, "No need." He turned to Jackson, "And about you inquiry into O'Neill's location, I believe he is on the observation deck resting."

Daniel nodded as he scratched his chin. "I see… Oh well, I'll catch him at dinner."

"Okay, now that we have located the missing General and his book, why don't T and I get cleaned up and we'll head to dinner." Mitchell stood up from the bench and threw a glance at Daniel. "You in?"

"Yeah, sure. I just need to close everything down in the Projection Room, so I'll meet you guys in a little while."

"Nice; see you then. Let's go Teal'c, I'm not sure I can stand my own smell much longer!"

"Indeed; neither can I."

Daniel couldn't help the laugh that escaped him as he watched Cam's jaw drop.

*****

"Okay, so the problem is that there isn't enough time to shut off the dilation field and start a new process."

Sam followed Vala with her eyes as the former Goa'uld paced the small span of the work station. "I know."

Holding up her hands to stop Sam from continuing, Vala said, "Uh, I'm just thinking out loud here."

"I know."

Both women traded bemused smiles, until suddenly, in a fashion that was true to Vala's nature, her focus changed and she referenced something behind Sam. "What _is_ that thing?"

Turning in a somewhat puzzled fashion, Sam saw her cello behind her and it dawned on her that even though she knew Vala knew about the music lessons with Jack, the woman had never actually seen the instrument. "Ah, it's a cello; the one I've been practicing with Jack. I've always wanted to learn how to play."

Vala shot her a knowing smile. "I keep meaning to ask you how the lessons are going…" Her voice trailed off but Sam could clearly hear the implications beneath.

"Nothing's happened Vala."

A moment passed as Vala stared at her suspiciously, apparently not believing a word that she had said, while Sam held Vala's gaze, daring the woman to question her farther.

Raising an eyebrow, Vala gave Sam a small smile. "Uh-huh…" She started pacing again, apparently dropping the subject for now, because Sam was sure that the subject would be broached again. "Is it possible to use the time dilation technology to solve our problem?"

Vala's question once again caught Sam off guard mostly because, like most things dealing with Vala, logic failed to follow. She had no idea what the other woman was referring to specifically. "How?"

"Well, obviously it would—"

Sam noticed too late that Vala had begun to lean back against the console behind her and quickly reached out in order to stop her. But it was too late and an angry beeped issue from the console before Vala had time to register and straighten back up. "Sorry!"

Sam couldn't help the thought that having Vala near sensitive areas was just a much of a danger as it was with Jack.

She gave Sam a sheepish look before continuing. "Obviously it'd be great if we could go back in time and not get into this situation in the first place."

A small laugh escaped Sam before she said, "Well, slowing down time within a localized field is not even close to the same thing as reversing time altogether." At Vala's crestfallen expression, Sam quickly added, "It's a good thought, though."

*****

"See what we need," Cam grabbed a napkin and the salt shaker in front of him, only to wrap the napkin around the neck of the shaker, "is we need Superman to fly around the ship really, really fast." He made flying motions over his food as he salted it.

Next to her, she heard Jack snort into his glass causing her to nudge him in the stomach playfully as she turned to Cam who was sitting on the opposite side of her. "Oh, if you only knew how ridiculous that was…"

Mitchell rolled his eyes and started to gather his trash onto his tray as he got up to leave the table. "No, it only sounds ridiculous 'til you hear yourself say 'I am trapped on a spaceship stuck in a time dilation field'."

Sam watched him as he took his tray over to the bar that separated the kitchen and Captain's mess, before grabbing a napkin and placing two of the cookies that Vala and Teal'c had made the day before onto it. "I'm just saying that maybe it's getting to the time that we start trying what we think is impossible."

Daniel nodded. "I hate to say it, but I agree with Cam." He glanced at her before shrugging as he began to work on his second helping.

Glancing at everyone, Sam said, "Look, I know that everyone wants to go home, I want to as well, but we need to ensure that we do it safely."

"I agree, Colonel." Landry smiled at her before addressing the table. "We keep our present course of action. Isn't that right, Jack?"

"Uh," Sam saw the slight confusion on O'Neill's face as he looked up from his playing of his food, apparently not have been listening, "yes, and most of all, try to have fun. Keep it light."

Daniel traded a knowing glance with Teal'c, as Vala smiled up at Daniel and Cam couldn't help but laugh at the "told you so" look directed at him by Landry. All of this Sam ignored as she leaned into Jack's side and whispered, "You have no idea what you just answered to, do you?"

"Nope."

She turned slightly into his shoulder to hide the giggle that escaped her and felt him smile against her hair. The sudden thought that it might not be wise to be this close in front of everyone yet made her immediately withdraw to a safer distance. Sam tried to ignore the sudden hurt expression cross his face as he went back to pushing the mostly untouched plate of food around.

God, she wish she could act like Vala did with Daniel; curled around the man she loved. Her eyes widen as the confession flowed smoothly in her thoughts.

She cleared her throat awkwardly causing Jack to raise an eyebrow at her. She feigned coughing as she took a drink of her juice. "Swallowed wrong."

He nodded and patted her back. Once her fake coughs subsided, she was more than a little surprised when he hand wasn't removed from her back and instead was moved to rest on the small of it, a warm and comforting weight.

If not distracting and definitely something she was happy to deal with through out the rest of dinner.

*****

Almost an hour later, the group, sans Landry, who had stayed behind to continue cleaning, filtered out of the mess and down the corridor towards the elevator.

"So guys, what are we all doing tonight?"

Everyone looked to Cameron who was wearing that easy smile of his that Sam had started to miss. He was still angry at being stuck here on the Odyssey for the foreseeable future but at least he seemed to coming to terms with it now.

She grinned back at him. "I don't know Cam, what are you planning on doing?"

"Well, I was going to see if anyone of you wanted to join me in the projection room for a movie. I've got my external!"

Sam felt Jack lean into her as she heard him snort at the enthusiasm in Cam's voice, his mouth suddenly close to her ear as he whispered, "Leave it to Mitchell to have a ton of movies with him at a time like this."

She turned to him slightly. "Says the man with half of The Simpsons on his own hard drive."

"Hey, it was a gift from Siler!"

Rolling her eyes, she cast her attention back to Vala who had begun saying something to Cam, and tried not to be disappointed when she felt Jack pull away from her. "We would love to come, but Daniel and I will have to leave early so we can have sex."

The group dissolved into laughter, except for Teal'c whose mouth merely twitched, at Vala's comment as Daniel suddenly grabbed her and put his hand over her mouth playfully. "Uh, what she means to say is that we have an early day tomorrow," he said quickly, a slight blush crossing his features.

Shaking her head slightly as she tried to stop her laughing, Sam said, "For what? More sex?"

Daniel merely shrugged in response as Vala reached up and placed a kiss on his cheek.

Looking nonplussed as usual by the exchange, Teal'c turned to Cameron and said, "I will also be joining you tonight."

Grinning, Cam turned towards Sam and asked, "How about it, Carter? I've even got General Landry coming by after he finishes up in the kitchen."

"Okay, count me in as well." Cameron beamed at her as they rounded a corner in the corridor, the elevator now within in their sights. "What about you, Sir?"

When no answer came from behind her, she tried again, knowing O'Neill's attention span wasn't the best, "Sir?" Again no answer; she turned around and found no one standing where he should have been. "Where did the General go?"

Teal'c was beside her immediately, though she knew everyone else had stopped as well. "I do not know Colonel Carter. Was he not behind you?"

"He was…" Sam couldn't help the worried feeling that settled deep within her stomach as she started to back track down the hallway.

Turning the bend in the corridor, she came to a sudden stop as she found him braced against a bulkhead, pale-faced and with his eyes shut tight. "Sir?"

He looked up at her and the emptiness in his eyes terrified her. "Jack?"

She registered that the others had caught up with her and that they had began to call his name as well but she only registered a single whisper from him before he fell unconscious, "Crap…"

Teal'c barely reached him before Jack hit the ground.

* * *

** - A/N: As some might worry about where this fic is going, I will tell you now these new developments with Jack will only last for the next few chapters. This is still a retelling of Unending and the reason for Jack's mysterious condition will be revealed as it unfolds.  
Besides that, whether you love it or hate it, tell me what you think?**


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